Son of a Legend - Redux
by MNAvenger
Summary: A retelling of my old story with a new plot. Please read and tell me your thoughts on it.
1. At the Beginning

**Hey, everyone! Guess which story is back from the dead? If you don't know because you've just heard of this, Son of Legends is a story I started at the end of 2013 and posted early 2014 (a long time ago, I know).**

**I bet you're wondering what happened here. Well, I looked over the story and I kind of cringed a little bit. Some of it didn't go exactly how I wanted it and I didn't want to waste any resources I have left. So I've decided to revisit the first story, just like AriaRose did with her crossover story. I haven't read the original one, so I'm just gonna rip out some things out.**

**Now, Son of a Legend has become special to me once more. It's not about saving the universe and stopping evil from spreading into different worlds. This trilogy is coming of age stories. It's about redemption, family, friendship, love, and discovering who you want to be. Try it be may, I wrote this with more fleshed out stories, more dynamic characters, and I intend to make this as fresh and original as I can.**

**On a side note, I'm still keeping the original up for two reasons: my first and main one is that it would be a lot of work to take all of those chapters down to start over. That leads into my second reason – not only would it save me time, but it wouldn't be fair to those who have enjoyed it. So yes, I'll keep the original up while placing this one online. You can follow either one and be the judges.**

**So here's a new and improved version of it. Have fun and fair reading!**

1\. At the Beginning

June woke up, her eyes wide and her breathing hard. Once she realized that it was all a dream, the young woman seemed to relax. Absentmindedly, she reached her hand out and searched for her husband. She felt nothing but the fabrics of the sheets, and she stiffened in panic. Her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness so that she could find him.

"Steve?"

"I'm right here."

The woman looked up, noticing a dark silhouette sitting at the end of the bed. Reaching out she turned the lamp on, casting their room into light. As she looked at him, she saw a look of worry in his eyes. It sometimes still amazed June that he could wake up in the middle of the night looking concerned. She sat up completely and saw that he was for once focused on something. She followed to see what it was he was gazing at, noticing the small boy in the next bed that was fast asleep.

"Steve, he's fine."

"I know," Steve said. "He would have loved the others, huh?"

June smiled sadly, wishing her little boy could have gotten a chance to spend time with the team and the kids they had. "Yeah, I think he would have. Do you think it would be sad that he wouldn't get to see the home he could have grown up in?"

"June, let's not start on that," Steve said. "All of that doesn't matter anymore. I guess it's nothing to worry about. But finding a new home now…"

"We _really_ didn't have to leave," she breathed.

He looked away. "You know why we had to."

June sighed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her head against her limbs. "I wish this didn't have to happen."

Steve shifted in his spot, looking at his beloved. "I know it will seem we will disappear. We'll come back someday. In time to see the world heal again."

June smiled. She knew Steve could overcome many obstacles, not like her. After missing out on all of the things he would have lived and died for throughout the years, losing friends…losing the first love of his life, he finally found himself in a place he longed for. That was the biggest surprise he ever had! And she was not willing to let anyone take those things away from him.

"June, you both mean a lot to me right now. You both are still and always will be the best things that ever happened to me. That will never change, not even in death."

June peeked over at their son. "I just wish he could have something that would show what we stood for."

Steve's eyes lit up. "Actually, I do have something he'll remember by."

He got out of bed and knelt down by the bedside. He reached under it and handed her a bag that he had kept for so long. She peeked inside, blinking in surprise.

"Your…"

"It was the only thing that I managed to get from the base before they sent the team after us," Steve said. He looked up and saw how uneasy she was. He placed a hand on her cheek. "Don't worry. We'll be back to where we started. I promise."

"I hope it will be soon, Steve."

"It's okay. Just remember…"

"We're doing the right thing, I know," June whispered, recalling what he told her earlier. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"June, you've nothing to be afraid of. You and Jack…" He paused. He knew she didn't have to hear the words to know what he was thinking, but he still wanted to say them. If not for her, then for himself. "To keep you two safe…there would never be a single thing I wouldn't do."

And there wasn't. Steve only hoped he could get them into Nevada before they were spotted without having to prove it to her.

* * *

The Autobot base was located on an abandoned farmyard just outside of Jasper in the middle of the Great Basin desert, provided by the town when they were ignorant on who bought the property. The barn and the other buildings were preserved hollowed out to allow the Autobots to walk around in them. The barn itself was longer and wider then most barns were, where the main section was shaped into two sections.

The first and larger one was where the Autobots spent their time walking around and interacting without fear of crushing humans underfoot. And the second smaller area was about ten feet above the ground and was where the humans normally spent their free time. It had a couch, table, television, all the things needed to keep the humans occupied.

At the moment, the base was occupied by the entirety of the Autobot team. Everyone was getting the place ready to welcome their newest family members, given how odd June sounded during her call. She had sounded uneasy and spooked when she called for a bridge. Not to mention she'd been lacking most of her usual sass, so that left the question of what had happened during her stay in Germany.

"Finished!" Bulkhead cried out happily as he stepped backwards to look at their new home.

"Ladies and gentlemen," exclaimed Cliffjumper. "We've finally did it."

"Well, it doesn't look that bad," claimed Arcee.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Ratchet sighed.

Bumblebee whirred in relief.

"Autobots, you have all done well," complimented Optimus Prime. "With all of your hard work, we were able to finish our headquarters and I would like to reward all of you tomorrow off from your daily duties."

Bulkhead sighed in relief. "Anymore work and I'll fall apart."

"All right! Let's go and enjoy the rest of the day!" Cliffjumper cried happily, but was stopped by Arcee.

"Not so fast, Big n' Red," she told him. "It's getting late and we all need our recharge."

"Recharge?" Cliffjumper gasped. "Arcee, you say that as if I never recharge. I can't believe you would accuse me of such."

"Are they here now?"

Bulkhead jumped at the sudden voice, screaming "Ghosts!" as Bumblebee jumped into his arms. Cliffjumper ran and ducked behind Optimus.

"Jeez, what is with you people?" Two tiny figures came out from behind the door, dragging a wagon behind them. "You act like the world is coming to an end."

Optimus peered down at the two smaller ones. "No, Wheelie, they are not here now," he said.

"Any longer, and I think Ratchet will have been rusty by now," Wheelie's companion said.

"Watch it," Ratchet warned.

The conversation was cut off when the proximity sensors were set off. Ratchet grumbled as he went over to see who it was. He tapped into the monitors and turned to his comrades.

"They're here," he announced.

Optimus vented calmly. "Grant them access."

Ratchet nodded as he typed in the command to open the gateway to their hideout. Before they knew it, a motorcycle drove in that carried three passengers, one of them small and clinging to the woman.

"Steven Rogers. June Darby," Optimus greeted. He glanced down at the small one. "Is this Jack?"

June looked down at her son. His eyes were wide and focused on the giant beings in front of him. He never met anybody so tall or made of metal before, although he had heard stories from her. It had been his mom, dad, and some other people he met in his life. Until now, the Autobots were just like a fairy tale.

"He's a little shy," Steve smiled. "Jack, these people are the Autobots. We're going to be living with them for a while."

"Autobots?" Jack let the new word roll off his tongue, finding it alien. Well, he was meeting aliens for the first time in his life, and here they were. He imagined them to look scary like the ones that attacked New York before he was born. But these people didn't look scary, nor did they act hostile to him and his family.

Cliffjumper stepped forward. "Hey there, Jack. I'm Cliffjumper but you can call me 'Uncle Cliff' because I'll be the best uncle anyone will ever have," he said with pride and feeling proud about it.

Arcee snorted at that, thinking he might be going over his head saying it. Guess it was time to introduce themselves to the kid. "Hi. I'm Arcee. And this," she pointed at Bumblebee, "is Bumblebee."

"The name's Bulkhead, and don't think that Cliffjumper will be your 'fun uncle' because I'll be the funnest uncle ever." He sent a smug look over at Cliffjumper, earning him a glare. They didn't even bother to acknowledge the looks from both parents.

Ratchet rolled his optics at their exaggeration. His attention has been caught when the boy was looking straight at him, almost as if thinking whether or not he's family. "Hello kid. My name is Ratchet and I'll be your personal medic from now on."

"Oh," Jack grumbled. He seemed disappointed.

Steve shook his head.

"I'm Wheelie, and this is Brains, also known as Mr. Personality," Wheelie greeted, putting an arm around his companion and pulling him closer.

"Why do you sound like SpongeBob?" Jack asked.

Steve and June burst out laughing. Wheelie glared at them, but it only made them laugh even harder.

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not," Brains mumbled.

"Well, I know that I am," Wheelie harrumphed.

Optimus smiled at the scene before him. It had been such a very long time since everyone had been this happy, as if the war never happened. This child truly was special to affect the Autobot's lives. Said boy started to look at Optimus with his wide, expressive eyes.

Bumblebee walked to Optimus, taking one of his hands so he could get closer to the boy. Optimus' spark raced when he tried to reach out to him. Jack immediately pulled one of his fingers into a tight hug.

"Looks like we know Optimus is gonna be his favorite," stated Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, come on," Steve said, his voice hoarse from laughter.

"Greetings, Jackson," Optimus smiled softly, causing him to look up to him. "I am Optimus Prime and I welcome you to the family."

* * *

Jack had a million questions for the Autobots. Some of them were happy to answer, and they shared their own queries in return. So far they had managed to avoid the events that occurred weeks ago. It was obvious to all of them that Jack didn't want to know what had happened that forced them on the run, and so they left the subject alone. There were too many other things to talk about. But for some reason, they didn't know where to start.

"How are you feeling?" Optimus asked June.

"Like I'm over the hill," she responded.

"I was inquiring about your son," Optimus said, turning to look at the small child.

"Jack?" Unintentionally, saying his own name brought a smile to her lips.

"He would have loved the others, would he not?" Optimus asked.

June closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Yeah, he would've."

Ratchet had stopped midway in his work, listening to the small conversation unfold. Worry pulsed in his spark. He heard similar exchanges such as this one, and they didn't end well. Hoping to lighten the topic, he switched to another one.

"Isn't it cold up there in the Midwest?" he asked.

"Cold doesn't begin to describe it," Steve scowled.

"You could see the shores of Lake of the Woods from Jack's bedroom window," June smiled.

Ratchet hummed. It was then he realized since they entered the property there had not been one second where June and Steve had not touched each other. He stared in disbelief at the young woman he knew for so few years. The previous events had shaped her into an entirely different person, going from a carefree and jubilant young woman to…to a calm and strong mother.

"Child's getting sleepy," Arcee announced. June looked up and saw her coming up with the boy cradled gently in her hands.

"Here, I'll do the deed," Ratchet said as he carefully took the boy.

"Ratchet, I can take him," Steve protested as he stood up.

"Yip-ep-ep," Ratchet interrupted. "If I try to give him to you, he'll likely wake up and start crying. And you know that the crying is the least I enjoy out of human children."

Optimus inwardly rolled his optics. He knew Ratchet more than that. There was no way he was letting go of the boy that easily.

Steve seemed to understand, and sat back down.

"I just can't believe you guys came back after all this time," Brains said. "If I had known something like this would've brought you back to us, I would've had them do this sooner."

"And she'd kill you if she found out you were behind it," Wheelie stated.

"Touché," Brains agreed.

There was so many questions June wanted to know, but she was careful to avoid leading the conversation towards anyone else, not wanting to feel upset all over again. "Have any of you heard from the others?"

Ratchet cleared his vocal cables. "Well, last I heard from Whitman he now works at Rand Corporation. Ms. Madsen was rehired at the NSA. Shame, because I think she deserved better."

"Dutch, from what I heard, is doing fine himself," Arcee said. "He now owns a place in Colorado. It's one of those_—_" She paused and narrowed the ridges over her optics.

"Collectible shops," Cliffjumper said.

"That's it," Arcee said.

"And the other two boys?" Arcee asked. "Where are they?"

"Can you believe what Spitz did?" Bulkhead smiled. "He went back to school. And he didn't just go, he _graduated_. I can't believe he made it that far. You'll never guess where he is right now _—_ Alexandria."

"Really?" June raised a brow. "Well, what about Simmons?"

Beeps, clicks and whines came from Bumblebee. He presented them with a hard cover book from the fold of his armor. Steve took the book for further inspection. June scooted over to get a better look at it.

"_The Constitution Project?_" June looked up. "He wrote this?"

Ratchet sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. On the plus side, it was a success. I couldn't get anyone to stop reading it."

"How can you?" Bulkhead piped. "It's really good, Ratchet. You should give it a try!"

"I might have if he hadn't gone as far as to…you know."

"I always thought he would end up in government work," Steve said. "But I kind of thought he'd be one of those lunatics who create their own conspiracy websites."

"Well, he thought of doing that. But that man hasn't been able to get around much," Ratchet said.

"Yeah, especially after the fight in Germany and…" Wheelie stopped. He hadn't meant to bring this there.

"Yeah," Steve whispered "After."

June looked up at him. Over the course of their stay in Germany, he had so much anger in his mind that she had been afraid that he was about to reach a breaking point. The thought of losing Jack, as he learned, taught him to keep going after that. But it broke her heart more when they had all parted ways in bad terms. She turned her gaze to the Autobots. She made sure that she was holding their optics with her eyes so she would know she had their attention. She never liked to touch the subject. But she had to let them know what really happened.

"I just want you all to know: any of the stuff they said about us isn't even half of the truth."

The room seemed to stand still, and June was aware of Steve grabbing tightly to the couch. There was no noise, only a single sentence left hanging in the air, waiting for a reply. Each Autobot looked at each other, afraid of saying something, but unsure as to what to respond with.

Optimus provided her with the definite answer, looking straight at her and giving her a simple nod.

"We know."

* * *

Steve waited for June to get Jack to settle onto the couch before he slipped out with Arcee to the town. He looked at the country as they zoomed down the highway. He breathed through his nose and looked ahead. Their little boy would grow up without the things they had worked for. He wasn't kidding. June and their son always will be the best thing that ever happened to him out of the seventy year sleep he had. He would never see that given up just to keep out of government reach.

Arcee pulled up to a building that resembled a warehouse. He got off and entered the building. He was surprised to see a familiar six foot tall man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hank?"

The man looked up and smiled. "Hello, Steve."

"I thought you quit on us."

"I did. I was just coming back to collect some things." He looked around at the items strewn over the shelves. "I just hope that Tony hasn't messed with them."

"Doctor, you know you're always welcomed back."

Hank stopped in the middle of his collecting and paused. "And you can still keep your family safe in Manhattan." Then he looked up adding, "But I guess you didn't have much of a choice. I do."

"I know how much she meant to you," Steve said. "I just don't understand why you sent your daughter and nephew away."

"I don't wish to hurt them by knowing the truth," Hank confessed. "I can't imagine their reaction towards it. I'm hoping that I'm doing the right thing."

Steve looked out the doorway. "I hope so too."

"Don't worry about it," Hank said. "I'm sure that one day you'll be able to find your way back."

"Only if you find yours."

"Probably not after this."

Steve smiled. "What good would that do now?"

**I hope you liked it. If you did, please R&R! :)**


	2. Lost Girl

2\. Lost Girl

The little girl, out of sheer boredom, frosted the walls of her prison so she wouldn't be disturbed. She concentrated on the snowflakes that floated in the air, watching them levitate and float. Some of the workers called her weird for talking to them, acting like they were her friends. To be honest, she actually found the sight comforting more than any living being could ever be.

The door to the room opened. Her focus turned to behind her, curious. She tapped on the floor of her prison and watched the frost fade from the glass.

"Well, it looks like her powers have begun to show itself," the man sneered, looking at the prisoner.

Miko looked over at her captor, not liking him one bit for having her mom killed and then taking her away.

"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded, turning to Silas.

"Because according to some normal people, you are a danger," Silas said.

"You lie," Miko seethed. "Get me my mom's lawyer."

Silas was confused, not knowing who her lawyer was.

"I said: get me my mom's lawyer," Miko repeated, getting up and storming up to the glass.

"I'm afraid I don't know your lawyer," Silas informed her.

Miko was stunned. She turned to look out the window with worry.

Silas looked her up and down, trying to study her. "What else can you do, besides your little visions?"

Miko stared at him in disgust.

"Just show me what else you can do."

"No," Miko said bluntly.

Silas' dark eyes narrowed at him. "I told you to show me what else you can do."

"You're not the boss of me!"

Silas did not look happy, but his attention was turned when a fellow agent came up and spoke softly with him. Then, with a grin, Silas said, "Well, looks like we won't have one mutant after all. Better make yourself more comfortable, kiddo, because we have guests."

Silas turned and left with the subordinate. Miko cried out and slammed her tiny fist against the wall. She looked over at the lock, and was surprised to see it begin to freeze over. She looked back at the doorway.

On the outside of the room, two guards were walking down the hall. They didn't pay any attention until the door was thrown out of its place and slammed them into the other wall. Four blurs ran past them in a hurry.

"All units in action," a voice over the speakers rang out. "Four of the subjects have just escaped!"

Red emitted from one of the escapee's hand and using it, blasted a hole in a wall. Brick and plaster flew and fell wherever it was taken to. A blaring siren screamed, alerting them that they had escaped.

The moon cast an eerie glow as they jumped through the hole and ran until they stopped at the edge of a cliff. They looked down, then back as they heard voices and saw beams from flashlights in the forest.

One of the two boys stood in center, keeping his gaze down at the distance below them. He held Miko close to him.

"Let's do this."

Within a heartbeat, they took the last few remaining steps and jumped over the edge. The agents that had all ready made it out stopped and gasped. Silas pushed through them to see the runaways fall. He couldn't believe that they committed their own deaths.

"Sir, they fell over," one of them whispered.

"Thank you for the worthless info," Silas growled, right after he punched him. "Everyone back to the compound. There's nothing left to savor."

He didn't know that one of them used her secret — and favorite — ability to save themselves from death as they clung to the side of the cliff.

* * *

Nighttime had fallen over the small ranch. However, Jack was restless, and he didn't want to fall asleep. Peeking out of his room, the young boy opened up his window and climbed down. He slid down the roof, landing on the ground before he took off to the barn. Jack never liked to miss a minute with the Autobots. No, he liked to hang around with them, listen to their stories of the Great War back on Cybertron, and he loved it when they would kid around. Well, not Optimus and Ratchet, who stood along the sidelines. Arcee only got into one of the play fights once, but that was because Cliffjumper hassled her. It was pretty hilarious how it ended, with Arcee holding him in some kind of a lock.

"Jack?"

The boy skidded in his tracks, almost tripping over his feet. He whipped around and felt his face heat up. "Busted," he whispered.

Steve shook his head. "You have that right," he spoke as he stood up from his seat. "What are you doing out of bed? You have school tomorrow."

Jack pouted. "I just wanted to hang out with the Autobots a little longer."

Steve grinned. "Jack, they're not going anywhere. They'll be right here when you need them. Besides," he added as he picked up his son, "you need your eight hours of sleep. Otherwise you'll miss out on all the things life can offer you. And we don't want your mom to find out you've been out here, do we?"

"No," Jack exclaimed, his eyes wide open. He remembered what happened the last time he sneaked out to spend more time with the Autobots. His mom had threatened to ground him from them for a week, and Jack was already up the stairs.

"No is right," Steve laughed. "Come on, let's get you back to—" He stopped suddenly in his steps. Jack noticed the change in his mood and followed his gaze to the front porch of their house. He saw four kids standing there. One of the boys was kneeling down in front of a little girl close to Jack's age as the other two stood on the steps. The little girl was trying hard not to cry as she nodded and embraced him. He returned the favor before getting up and leaving her there and the older kids were gone.

Steve didn't know why he hadn't said anything. He didn't understand why he didn't do anything. For all he, he could have scared him off. Maybe it was because he was paranoid again, fearing that these kids were sent by special forces to see who lived there. So, why wasn't anything happening?

Jack stared at the girl. She was just sitting there on the steps. He wiggled out of Steve's embrace, causing the older man to gasp, and rushed across the yard to meet her. He pushed his teddy bear towards her. She was startled at his sudden presence and stared at it.

"Take it."

She just continued to stare at it.

"Go on."

With unsteady fingers she reached out and took the bear. She quickly pulled it back to her and cuddled up with it, not taking her gaze off of him.

"It's okay," Jack coaxed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know if you're okay."

The girl just stared at him. Jack got an idea. He stuck out his tongue and made all of the stupid faces he could think of while adding a silly dance to it. The girl giggled.

"You're not bad."

"You're not bad yourself." Jack stretched out his hand. "I'm Jack."

She grabbed his hand and shook it. "Miko." She looked around. "Is this where you live?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Who were those people? Were they your brothers and sister? How come they left you here? We can take you inside and_—"_

"I don't want to be here," Miko piped. "I just want my daddy."

"Who is he?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Miko sighed. "All I know is that I can do what he does, and it's pull out these blades from my hands."

Steve was suddenly alert about this. He knew instantly what she was talking about. He quickly strolled over to them as Jack asked, "Where's your mom?"

Miko looked sad. "I don't have one."

Jack immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, tell that to the people I'm going to get back at for killing her," Miko growled. She looked up at the sound of footfalls and gasped. She scooted away from the approaching man.

"Hey, it's okay," Steve said, raising his hands up. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. Let's just take you inside. Is there someone that we can call?"

Miko's eyes widened. Her face turned red and she turned away. Steve knew right there that something was wrong.

"Steve, is Jack out there again?" June's voice called from inside. Footsteps echoed before the door opened. "I swear, if that boy keeps running out of this house during the night again—" She stopped and halted in her tracks when she noticed Miko sitting on the porch. "Oh, hello there. Boys, who is this?"

"June, I'll explain when we get inside," Steve said as he got the kids up. "Right now, someone needs their sleep for school tomorrow. Isn't that right, Jack?"

The young boy cringed. He hated it when his father used that tone of voice. It was his "Listen or I'll give you a lecture on the Ten Commandments" tone. "Yes, sir."

"Do I have to go to bed?" Miko spoke. She was answered by a look from June.

"You're a young lady. And even young ladies need their sleep. I'll have a room set up for you for the night. We'll find where your parents are in the morning. Do you know where they are?"

Miko lowered her head down. "I don't know where my daddy is."

June looked up Steve with a worried look. When he returned it, she ushered the kids inside the house and up the stairs. Jack scrambled into his room and underneath his covers. He pulled them over his head in an attempt to drown out the voices that he could suddenly hear from downstairs. For almost a moment, he just wanted to forget and just sleep it off. Maybe if he woke up the very next time, he would forget the frightened look on his parents' faces.

There was a soft click and the door creaked open. Jack quickly sat up to see who trespassed and saw the girl peeking at him through the crack. "Miko?"

"What's going on?" Miko quietly spoke. "What do you think is going to happen? I'm scared. I want my family. Those three that promised to come back when I'm older."

Jack crawled out of his bed, ignoring the fact he was pulling his sheets with him. Fumbling to get out of them, he waddled over to her and opened the door more to wrap an arm around her. "It's okay," he cooed. "Things happen for a reason. My mom and dad will help you find your dad, just you wait and see."

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise not to tell anyone what I can do?"

"Of course. Who would believe me?"

"And, will you always be my friend no matter what?"

Jack smiled as he guided her back to her room. "Yeah, I would."

* * *

By the time June dropped Jack off from school and pulled up in the driveway, she could hear a shrill scream split the air. Steve glanced up from the garden towards the makeshift base. June gasped, knowing that it was Miko. And it was filled with pain.

"Miko!"

Cliffjumper quickly transformed and held her back. "June, wait! Anyone could be in there!"

"In the base?" June felt skeptical. In the last four years they have lived there, no one had ever found their location. It was a fortress with six metal giants from another world to guard them, two smaller ones who kept watch in case of intruders. But, that didn't mean it _couldn't_ happen. Could it?

Steve pulled out the pocket knife he stored in his boot and, together they sneaked over to the building. Heavy footsteps resonated against the ground as Cliffjumper followed them. Both of June's hands enveloped with lilac colored energy. As they approached the doorway, June could hear Miko whimpering and Arcee comforting her. She heard no sign of trouble, but they had to always be careful. Steve gave her a nod and they both whipped around the corner, ready to attack. Cliffjumper whipped out his arm blades, prepared to fight whatever it was they were about to face.

"Whoa! Watch what you do with those things," Bulkhead started.

June looked around. There was no one in the building except for the Autobots and Miko. She let out a sigh of relief, but Steve stuck his knife in the doorway and rushed for the girl's side.

"Miko? Miko, what happened?" he whispered, pulling her into his arms to inspect her.

"She's fine," Arcee said. "She just tripped and fell against this." She held up a small object between her fingers. She held it close for Steve to see. Sure enough, it was a small splint of wood. There was a small bit of blood on it. It made both adults wince.

"Come on now," June crooned as she took Miko from Steve. "Let's get it cleaned up." She turned and left the barn, Miko still whining in her arms.

"Is she going to be okay?" Bulkhead asked.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Steve whispered. Even though he said that, he still felt worried. Seeing the girl get hurt and him not being there to prevent it troubled him. Now he would have to imagine the possibilities of what could happen should trouble come and neither of them were there to protect her, or Jack.

"Steven, everything will be fine," Optimus assured him.

"It's not that," Steve said. "It's what could happen when Jack grows up, living in a world unlike our own."

"You mean you're afraid you won't be there if he gets into trouble," the Autobot leader said.

"How—"

"Please," Ratchet rolled his optics. "It doesn't take a psychoanalyst to figure that out."

Steve breathed in through his nose before letting it out. "It's like I won't be there one day and they'll find them — find you guys — and they'll take all of you away while June and I…" He looked up at them. "I'm not trying to be mean or make it sound like I'll ruin his life, but I want him and June to be okay. They both mean a lot to me right now, and I _mean_ it."

* * *

June carefully tended to Miko's wounds, not wanting them to get infected. After applying ointment, she wrapped it up and kissed Miko on the forehead. "Feel better, sweetheart?"

"Yes," Miko smiled.

June laughed. She carefully picked up Miko and set her down. "And since you've been such a good girl, I can give you a piece of candy."

Miko beamed up at her. "Thank you. Did your parents do that whenever you got hurt?"

The smile on June's face vanished. Miko knew that those memories of her childhood didn't seem to pleasant, but not bad enough to even forget who she was.

"No. Not really." She got up and put the medical kit away. Miko blinked up at her before she reached into the candy bowl and took out a piece.

"Miko?" June stopped as soon as those whiskey colored eyes peeked up at her. The woman hesitated, trying to get the question out without having to hurt the girl. Taking a deep breath she asked, "Do you know where your parents are at?"

For a moment, the little girl was silent. Defeat settled heavily upon her tiny shoulders. She had always that, perhaps if she stayed silent about it, by not telling anyone the issue, she might be able to find the answers on her own. Having to travel for heaven knows how long with three others like her always made her cautious about who to trust and what her next move would be. But, these people she could trust if she was left here, couldn't she?

"My mom is dead. I don't know where my dad is," she said softly.

June's face fell at the news. As she closed the cupboard door, she knelt down in front the of the young girl, taking her hands into her own. "Miko, I'm so sorry to hear that."

Miko gave her a weak smile. "It's okay," she said.

June bit her lip in an attempt not to cry. She just wanted to reach out and hug the girl. The door opened and Steve came in.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

Miko nodded and gave her a small smile. June gave her hands a careful squeeze. "Why don't you run along now to the playroom?"

"Can I go see the Autobots again?" Miko requested.

Steve looked up at June. She nodded and Miko rushed out of the house, eager to once more meet the metal titans that also resided on the farm.

"I don't know what it is, but something about her just amazes me," June said.

Steve nodded with a sad smile. "Where are her parents?"

June looked sad. "She doesn't have any right now."

That caught Steve by shock and surprise. No parents?

"I don't know who her dad is and her mother was killed."

Steve exhaled through his nose. "I have a good guess as to who her father is."

June looked up at him.

"Last night when she showed up, there were three other kids with her. They left her here. I don't know who they were, but one of them looked familiar. She was interested in Jack since he walked up to her and they started talking. One of them was about her father."

"What did she say?"

"She didn't say much, except that she could do what he could with his hands. Say, do you remember Logan?"

"You're kidding…"

"In all honesty, not even she knows what happened," Steve explained. "Investigation on her mother's death could be underway. As for why and how, well…"

"Okay, let's stop right there," June said as she stood up. "I have to be at my shift in half an hour anyways; we can maybe discuss about this later?"

Steve looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't enthusiastic about the topic. Whenever they brought one person from the team up, the entire mood they were in was dampened. He knew how much the Avengers meant to her. One day, when he was putting away his clothes, he found every paraphernalia she had during the years and the letters from Janet, back when she was still alive. But, it had been so long since they actually saw anyone they knew, and almost four years since he saw Hank in town that he wondered if anyone forgot about them. He realized the only way they could ever have a reunion or unite once more was if something brought them together.

"Okay, have fun at work."

June smirked before walked up and placing a kiss on his lips. "I love you," she whispered.

Her breath was hot in his face and it sent chills down his spine. He looked down at her and smiled. They could figure things out tonight, in the morning if they were still stuck in a tight spot. He suddenly felt tired and the sight of June heading for their room to change was unforgiving.

"You know, it's not the end of the world," he said in a teasing voice.

She turned back to him. At first, he thought she would throw one of her witty comebacks at him. He was instead met with a look of sadness he hadn't seen in years.

"Yes, it is."

* * *

In the dark of the night, a lone dark van drove down the deserted road in the country. The soldiers of MECH had simple orders — grab the girl and leave; the other residents were expendable. They'd all be asleep by now and even with the parents awake, they would be easy to subdue.

The moment the van pulled up into the yard, the leader knew something was off. Something about the farmyard didn't seem to add up. He could hear a faint humming in the air. Shaking his head, he motioned for his men towards the house.

They quietly entered the house, one man in the van as the getaway driver and one in guard of the door. The other three quickly searched the downstairs to see where their target was at. The humming had softened, so it must have come from the outside in one of the other buildings. He would investigate on that later.

The air suddenly felt cold, like a stale breath. He knew from horror movies that it was unwise to look behind you, but instincts told him to ignore that. So the moment he turned around, he knew it was his worst mistake. He felt a fist connect with his jaw, then a knee to his stomach.

The other soldiers turned around, just as a small figure leaped out of the shadows to tackle one of them. The guard outside came rushing in to see what was wrong, just as one of them was thrown at him, knocking him down.

Upstairs, Jack was awakened by the loud noises that suddenly echoed in the household. His eyes shot opened and he sat up. Someone was in the house! He threw the covers off and jumped out of the bed. Opening the door, he saw nobody in the hall, so the noises were coming from downstairs. Miko's room burst opened and she came rushing out as well.

"What was that?" she gasped. "Was that you?"

Jack gave her a funny look. They heard something crash from downstairs and a brilliant light emitting from downstairs, followed by an agonized scream. They gasped in fear. Jack slowly crept forward to see what was going on. He peeked down the stairwell, but he saw nothing.

"What's going on?" Miko hissed. "Can you see anything?"

"No," Jack responded. Gently he called out, "Mom?"

Steve held one of the men in a headlock when he heard Jack's voice. Fear and trepidation flooded his mind. He glanced over at June, who held one man in a leg-lock and the other one in her own arms. She manged to knock out the one in her legs and punch the other one, dazing him as she scrambled to her feet. Steve kept an eye on them as she appeared in their sights, including the one she blinded.

"Mom, what's going on down there?" Jack asked in a hushed voice.

June climbed up the steps and gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Hush now, it's just a few pests we're trying to get rid of. Go back to sleep now," she said, kissing his forehead gently.

Jack didn't seem convinced, but he knew he had to choice. He nodded before taking Miko's hand and leading her back down to their rooms. Contented that they were back in their rooms, June descended down the steps to help get rid of the problem.

Steve had one of the men over his shoulder and a second in his hand. June picked up the other two and they threw them out of the house. The other man in the van got out, but June pulled out a gun.

"If you want to live, I suggest you get back in," she ordered. The look in his eyes told her that he was wise to listen and in no time he was back in the vehicle.

The other men were coming to as Steve squatted down next to them, his blue eyes blazing with anger. The soldier closest to him trembled in his place.

"I don't know who you men are, but if I ever see you around here again, I _will_ hunt you down," Steve threatened. "Do I make myself clear?"

The leader nodded vigorously, eyes wide. All four of them quickly dashed off to the van, each one tripping over the other in order to get inside. The van zoomed out of the yard and peeled down the road. Ratchet had rushed into view once they were gone.

"What happened?" he said, glaring at the couple.

"I don't know, and I really don't care right now," Steve answered. He draped an arm around June and they both headed back into the house, leaving the medic questioning what had transpired.

* * *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Miko had turned up at their residence. June had learned from the Humane Society that they would put Miko into a foster home. She was against it, after hearing some pretty bad things. When suggesting a group home, June was extremely mad. She began to voice her concerns about the girl, getting to know her pretty well. She was wild, but June had managed to handle kids like that growing up herself. Her older sister was like that.

That night, as the kids watched a movie with the Autobots, Steve and June discussed what they were going to do with the girl. Steve didn't want to contact Logan, fearing what would happen if they tried to and succeeded. Ever since those men entered the premises, he couldn't sleep or remain focused, listening to each car pass by, waiting to see which one would pull in. To come and take away his family from him. His calm facade was slowly crumbling with each sentence that they spoke. What was there to hide now?

June made a suggestion: why not adopt her? Steve almost went against it, but stopped and thought it over for a moment. Due to her nature and the background of her parents, she would need some special care. Her mutation could expose itself anytime now, and they would need to help her adjust to it once the revelation came into full fruition.

So, when they approached the farm, they could hear some of the Autobots arguing. At first they thought it was because of some recon mission, only by putting bits of it together that it was about the movie. Steve groaned; June just smirked and rolled her eyes. They stepped foot into the base, watching all but Ratchet and Optimus bicker among themselves. The medic glanced over at their leader in annoyance. The red and blue titan just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Man, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Wheelie grumbled.

"I told you that this wasn't a good pick," Brains stated.

"Oh, so now it's my fault!" Wheelie barked.

Miko never looked so terrified. She clung onto Jack as he wrapped an arm around her. He just watched the fight as if it were normal for him. Of course it was, he grew up around them for the last four years! No child would just not be used to the things they knew without having to watch it happen over and over again.

"Okay," Steve said as he came forward. "Come on, Jackie, time for bed." He picked up his son. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"Do I have to go to bed this early?" Jack whined. He shrank in his place when his father gave him that look.

"Jack, do I have to make you owe me a quarter every time you ask that?"

Jack's eyes widened and furiously shook his head.

"Alright then," Steve nodded as they went out of the base. Miko jumped to her feet and followed the boys.

"Miko?" June said as soon as they were out of the Autobots' earshot.

The girl stopped and turned to June.

"We need to talk about something," June said, kneeling in front of Miko, giving her enough space as not to make her uncomfortable.

"I met with one of the social workers today," she said. "She said that we need to figure out what to do. She suggested a group home, but trust me, you don't want that. Or you can go into a foster home, if you want to."

Miko turned away.

"Or…we were thinking about adopting you, since we don't know where your dad is."

Miko looked back up to June, a shocked look in her eyes.

"You mean it?" Miko asked. "I could live with you guys!"

June smiled. "Yes, you can."

The girl wrapped her arms around June's neck, pulling her in for a too-tight hug.

"I love you, June! I wanna stay here forever."


	3. The World Turned Upside Down

3\. The World Turned Upside Down

The young mutant slowly crept towards the open room, drawing closer to her prey with every careful step she made. Her target was crouched directly in front of his bed, scanning each item before putting them in a bag, completely unaware of the girl preparing to spring on him from behind.

Target locked.

She readied herself to lunge, planning to tackle him to the ground. Her prey had other plans.

Miko squealed as she flew over Jack and landed directly onto the bed instead of the boy, who had moved out of the way as she attacked. She sat up and scowled at him.

"Nice try, Miko," Jack said, grinning at her as he stood up. "You've been too predictable lately."

"Screw you," Miko snarled. "I will get back at you!" She stood up and brushed herself off of the dust. Jack just grinned and continued to put his books in his bag.

Years had quickly passed on by since Miko had become part of the family. On this day Jack wore a white t-shirt and a blue jacket with red highlights on the sleeves. Miko, contrary to her taste in rock music, wore a gray shirt with black sleeves that were inches past her elbows and capris with black converse. To them, it felt like an ordinary day at the farm just outside of Jasper.

"You could've pretended to at least not know I wasn't there," Miko pouted.

"I would not like to get tackled to the ground for a third time," Jack countered.

"Bulkhead's more fun than you are," Miko spat.

"Bulkhead is a hundred times bigger than I am," Jack shot back.

"I bet if he were here right now—"

"If I had Arcee in here right now—" Miko never gave him the chance to finish as she tackled him, throwing him off of his guard. Jack squawked in surprise when his back slammed into the carpet. Miko accidentally let her claws slip from her hand.

"Hey, easy with the adamantium here," Jack cried out.

"Oops," Miko said, retracting them back into her hand.

"What were you trying to do, kill me?"

"I was gonna, but not in the literal sense."

Jack scowled and pushed her off of him. He reached out and retracted the bag that had flown out of his hand.

"Hey, the study proves—"

"Only if you were under attack," Jack stated. "And I don't think Mom and Dad would be happy if they found out just exactly how you were using them."

"Statistics," Miko retorted, already out of the room.

Jack grumbled before he picked up his bag. He marched right out of the house to the entryway of the Autobot safe house. He walked into the hanger-style entryway. "Morning Ar—" He stopped dead in his tracks.

Arcee wasn't there. He began to wonder where she was right as a familiar red Autobot entered.

"Hey, Jack!" he called.

"Morning, Cliff," Jack replied. "Where's Arcee?"

"She and Bulkhead went on patrol," Cliffjumper said. "So, ready for school?"

"No, but it's the last day of school, so I'm super excited to find an excuse to get away from this crummy town for a week," Miko said truthfully, as she appeared next to Jack.

"Jack! Miko!" Arcee's voice rang out throughout the small ranch. He looked up and saw the green Ford Escape Hybrid and the blue Kawasaki Ninja 250R motorcycle pull into the yard. "Ready for school?"

"Yep," Jack said as he grabbed his helmet

"Just remember to call us immediately if anything goes wrong," Bulkhead said.

"Yes, Bulkhead," Jack groaned.

"I mean it, kiddo."

"Easy, Bulk," Cliffjumper said. "It's good to see the kids so enthusiastic about school for once."

"I've got a few sores, I can barely bring out my weapons, if anything happens and the parents find out—"

"We're all here, don't forget," Cliffjumper stated.

"Arcee, let's go!" Miko whined.

"Tighten your grip, kids," Arcee said. She shot out of the barn eliciting a yell from Bulkhead as she drove off of the property, making the two riders yelp in surprise.

"Hey!"

Bulkhead and Cliffjumper cringed at the voice.

"Are you insane?" Steve shouted as he stopped at the entryway.

"Hey, Stevie Wonder," Cliffjumper spoke. "It's not going to hurt the kids to be a little extreme."

"You keep thinking like that and I might have to sell you for spare parts," Steve smirked.

"You wouldn't do that to even save a life," Cliffjumper gasped.

"I might," Steve said. "June and I have been worried about them enough all ready. Now I have to worry about what happens when they're riding one of you?"

"You got two teenagers that are almost of legal age," Cliffjumper argued. "They can't be under protection for the rest of their lives." He looked at Bulkhead for help.

"Um, I think what Cliff's trying to say," Bulkhead began, handpicking his words carefully, "is that the point being that they're getting old really fast, so even we have to be ready when they start to want to get independent. And…I say we just let them go free when they're at that age."

Cliffjumper gave him a look.

"I mean, what difference does it make who's after whom anymore?"

* * *

By the time school was finished, Jack seemed to have found himself in a pretty good mood. That was, until he got into an altercation with Trent DeMarco, the golden boy, star football player, and the town bully. Miko had to pull Jack away when she got the chance. It wasn't even fair. Usually it was _her_ that got into fights and _he_ had to get her away before the claws came out.

"He's not worth it," Miko said as she dragged him through the doors.

"That guy is just…" Jack growled, pulling his hair. "I just want to…"

"Yeah, I know," Miko said. "I've been there and I've done it, but you'll blow the cover if you use your strength on him."

"I just want to take out the one thing of his that never sees the sun," Jack huffed.

"I would have loved to see that," Miko smirked.

"Then why didn't you?"

"And get grounded for a whole week? Totally not on my bucket list. I am not going to get into trouble with June and Steve again. Or the bots. Well, Ratchet would have let you do it…and Arcee…and Cliffjumper…Okay, maybe the majority would approve but the others wouldn't let us hear the end of it!"

Jack wanted to add an input on that, but he stopped in his tracks. He looked around the parking lot, trying to find one of the Autobots there to give them a ride home. However, the parking lot was empty.

"Hey, what gives?" Miko exclaimed. "They're usually here on time." She groaned loudly before she suddenly perked up.

"Oh, no," Jack grumbled.

"Let's call the Hatchet and see if he'll bridge us back."

"That's…not a bad idea," Jack agreed. He pulled out his cell and pressed a contact.

"Optimus?" Ratchet's voice answered.

"Uh, no, its Jack," Jack said. "Is something wrong, 'cause school's finished and no one's out here to pick us up."

"That is because the entire team is rather…indisposed at the moment," the medic huffed. "I suggest you obtain an alternate method of transport."

"Dude, what's he saying?" Miko asked.

Jack waved her off. "Nothing, just that they're busy."

"Then tell _him_ to come get us!" she groaned. "It's not like he has anything _else_ to do!"

"Just, stay at the school!" Ratchet snapped. "I will be in touch later!" With that, he hung up.

"What crawled up his tailpipe and died?" Miko asked.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "They seem to be keeping us in the dark _a lot_ lately."

Miko had a devious grin on her face. "Well, since your folks are working until the evening and the bots are busy—"

"Miko, no," Jack cut her off. He knew what she was thinking, and he wasn't going to let her drag him along with it.

"Jack, come on," the girl whined. "No one's going to notice."

_Oh, yeah,_ Jack thought._ No one will notice two teenage kids sneaking into the excavation sight outside of town._ But he didn't say that. He just kept his mouth shut.

"Please?" Miko implored. "Steve won't even notice we were there. I've been down in that place once before."

Jack stared at her. "You _what_?"

"You tell a soul, you'll be my first victim," the girl snarled.

"Miko, I…what — when?"

"When what?" the girl piped.

"When have you been down there before?" Jack inquired.

"Last Friday night," Miko answered.

Jack nearly stumbled. "You were down there last Friday?! __Why__ exactly? Do you even know how much trouble you could've gotten into?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't," Miko stated before she started down the steps.

Jack watched her go, not wanting to get into trouble himself. He shook his head and followed her to the city limits.

"I am so going to be grounded for the rest of the summer," Jack told himself.

"Oh, don't be a sissy," Miko said. "And besides, we only have enough time before they realize something's out of place."

* * *

Jack studied the sight that laid out before them, not sure what he was supposed to expect. "This is it?" he asked, less impressed than he was when they starting their journey to the abandoned sight.

"Pretty much," Miko said. "Ready for an adventure?"

"How do we know it's abandoned?" Jack wondered.

"They leave before we come," Miko said as she started to climb down. "We'll be fine. Just as long as no one notices our stuff."

"That sounds relieving," Jack mumbled before he slid down the rocky slope and they entered one of the caverns.

By the time they had come into a small room, Jack was almost amazed as the structure. It looked as if someone had hollowed it out, shaped it into what resembled an auditorium of a theater. He didn't think for sure that it could be possible to see something so clean.

Miko got up on a rock and looked around. "This could be a cool place for a concert," she said.

"Yeah," Jack said with little interest. "I mean, who wouldn't want to listen to grunge music in probably an unstable cave?" When he didn't get a witty response, he turned to find Miko still on top of the boulder, frozen in her spot. "Um, Miko?"

"Jack, I think I heard I heard footsteps."

Jack tensed in his spot. Nervously he looked around to see where they could hide. Noticing a crevice in the wall, he grabbed Miko and they took off towards it. He fumbled around in his pack, shocking Miko as he pulled out one of June's Beretta pistols out. He had been carrying it around for almost a month since he found out MECH had actually come to town and was on the brink of reducing the town to rubble. He caught hell when Steve found out, but that didn't stop him. He pushed Miko behind him and held the pistol out in front of them, using his pack as a shield. A dark figure appeared in his sight, stopping with a pause.

"Who is it?" Miko whispered.

"I don't know," Jack hissed. He crept closer to the opening of their hideout, watching the man turn around in confusion. Whatever Jack had in mind, whatever he was willing to put up with, he was not expecting the shock that coursed through his body when he saw that man's face. He stood up straight, pack lowered and the arm holding the pistol hanging at his side.

"What?" Miko hissed.

"Bucky?" Jack spoke.

The man whipped around to see who had spoken his name. His tired blue eyes caught Jack's, and he froze in his spot. "Yeah?"

"Miko, get out here now!" Jack shouted excitedly, turning to his adopted sister. He hardly watched her crawl from their hiding spot as he threw his arms around the soldier. He was the first friend of his parents he was seeing now. He was the first Avenger he was hugging after all of those years. James _Freakin'_ Buchanan Barnes!

"Um, I'm sorry," Bucky spoke. "Who are you?"

Jack pulled away, smiling and wiping away the tears that were leaking out of his eyes. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I'm just really giddy to see you here."

"Jack, don't mean to be rude," Miko spoke, "but who the heck is this?"

"Miko, this is James Barnes," Jack said. "He's the guy Mom and Dad never shut up about."

"Wait, what?" Bucky frowned.

"Yeah! I always hear the stories about you and the others while I was growing up," Jack replied. "You've got to come back to our house." He was grinning from ear to ear. "My folks would be happy to see you."

"Folks?" Bucky inquired.

Jack suddenly had an awkward look. He fidgeted in his spot, rubbing his head. "Yeah, about that…do you know when the last time it was since you've heard from Steve Rogers? Or June Darby?"

The former veteran frowned, and was silent until he said:

"This was years go. What's this about?" He studied Jack's face, making both teens very uncomfortable. They suddenly found this as an awkward mistake, Miko fidgeting in her place as Jack rubbed his arm. How would they explain this to a soldier traumatized by HYDRA?

"When was the last time you saw them exactly?" Jack whispered.

"Almost twelve years…" Bucky's eyes widened. "Rogers' son."

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!"

Jack glared at Miko. Out of all the times she had to use her wits, it had to be now. He turned to Bucky again. "We're really glad to see you. You should come with us to our house. I know Dad will be really happy to see you."

"Jack, what about the Autobots?" Miko whispered.

The mirth on Jack's face vanished, and he groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. He forgot about the Autobots! How were they going to react when they bring a stranger to the farmyard? Did Bucky even know about them, and vice versa?

"Well, let's go!" Miko exclaimed, pulling at Bucky's arm and dragging him down towards the exit. "This could be as awesome as any Slash Monkey concert."

"Oh, no," Bucky groaned, covering his face with his metal hand. "Not another Monkey freak."

Jack bit his lip to prevent it from curving into a smile. He was just so focused on Bucky. Whatever did happen to him? What connection could he have possibly have made in the past with the Autobots and every other ally of theirs? Jack ran through every event he knew in history to match his current one. He would probably find out back at home.

_You're home, Bucky._ Those words brought some comfort to him. _Welcome back._

* * *

A red First Generation Dodge Challenger with horns on the hood drove through the empty road. The cloud of dust was rising behind it, as it sped through the open country. The breeze hit its front window, and the tires were rotating even faster, carrying the vehicle across the road.

"So, I was cruising through the streets of Jasper, when I heard sirens blaring from behind," Cliffjumper's voice said from the car. "And then it hits me — I'm illegally parked."

"Let me guess," Arcee's voice replied through the radio. "Another parking ticket?"

"Better! The boot."

"I guess Steve knew you were in town," Arcee chuckled.

"Bingo!" Cliffjumper cheered. "So the local police do their thing, and I let them go all the way down the block. That's when I kick off my shiny new shoe and bang!"

"New York's finest are foiled again."

"You know me, Arcee. You mess with Cliffjumper…"

"And you get the horns," Arcee finished for her friend. Then something came up her mind as he laughed. "I'm not sure how that complies to rule number one — maintain a low profile at all times."

"What can I say? Scouting around for energon makes you feel lonesome. Almost makes me miss the Decepticons."

Arcee snorted. "Like Jasper's a party. We've been alone on this rock since we drove them off, Cliff."

Cliffjumper seemed ready to reply, when his detectors caught his attention. "I'm getting a signal," he reported.

"Need backup?"

"Do I __ever__ need backup?" Cliffjumper answered with a cocky tone and shot off.

* * *

During their walk, Miko had been asking a lot of questions. Bucky was trying not to tear her a new one. So far, it was the typical ones like "How did you acquire that arm?" or "Did it hurt when you fell?" And there was the classic "Are you sure you're Bucky and not some decoy meant to look like him?" When she ran out of those queries, she went straight to the basics.

"What's your favorite color?" Miko finally inquired. "Is it blue? I bet it's blue because it reminds you of Steve."

"You know, kids don't usually ask this many questions when I'm around," Bucky finally said.

"That's probably because they look at you and think your the Terminator," Miko replied.

"Right now, you're making me wish I am," Bucky grumbled. He grinned at the look on her face.

"Okay, shutting up now," the girl said.

Jack's ears picked up a faint sound and kept his gaze up ahead. "Anyone else heard that?"

Bucky glanced over. "Whaddya mean?"

Jack stared at the tunnel they had come from previously before walking down it. Bucky and Miko looked at each other before following him.

As they went further the noise became more audible. They also noticed how the end of the tunnel was glowing a fiery light. Miko had fished her cell phone out, ready to take pictures. Jack hadn't notice Bucky's look of sudden horror until he grabbed the kids and threw them to the ground with him on top. Miko was ready to chew him out before the older man hushed her and looked up. Jack followed his gaze and he froze.

There were robots. A dozen of them. All identical in black and purple with a red visor. His eyes noticed one that overlooked them that didn't look like them. He was purple and black with violet optics. Two wheels were placed on his shoulder blades and lower arms. Headlights were resting on his chest with a strange symbol in the center. He had clawed fingers and sturdy feet.

"There seems to be nothing here," the being growled. "But a good scout shouldn't hurt. Start searching! Lord Megatron would want some Intel on the area."

"So cool," Miko mused.

_This must be what Mom and Dad were talking about long ago,_ Jack thought to himself.

"You three!"

They all looked up to find one of the giant look alike drones storming over to them. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We're toast," Miko whined.

Just as the Cybertronian was about to get them, a familiar red Challenger rammed him into the nearest wall.

"Jack!" Miko pointed out.

"Quick! Get in!" Cliffjumper shouted, opening the doors.

"W-what?" Bucky said.

"Come one? Hurry up!"

The kids cooperated, seeing no alternative. They jumped and the car rushed out of there, as the separate robot transformed into a black and purple Mustang Convertible. Soon, they found themselves on the highway.

"Why is he shooting at us?" Bucky shouted.

"He's not one of us, sir," Cliffjumper corrected. "And he's a really bad guy."

"Hey, Cliff. Miss me?"

Cliffjumper adjusted his mirrors, just in time to see both a familiar motorcycle shoot out onto the interstate with two troopers tailing her. Optimus wouldn't be happy if he found out what kind of trouble they had gotten into.

"Friend of yours?" Bucky asked.

"Something like that," Cliffjumper said.

And before anyone knew it, there was the end of the road. The bridge was under construction, but Cliffjumper just kept speeding, eventually reaching the edge. They started to fall. Before the humans could hit the ground, he transformed, grabbed them, and landed safely, with no harm done to the humans.

Cliffjumper set the humans down. "Stay down," he told them. "Get out of here as fast as you can."

"Roger that," Jack nodded.

Miko groaned. "I wanna see the fight."

"Come on," Jack growled, dragging her to the ledge towards the pipe.

"You want the horns?" Cliffjumper snarled. "You got 'em."

Before long, Arcee appeared and transformed, landing next to him. Her blue violet optics glared up, as the two purple and black cars jumped after her, followed by the one they assumed was the leader. The three vehicles transformed into robots and landed before the Autobots.

"Barricade," she snarled.

"Well, well," Barricade returned the favor.

"You should have stayed away from this planet," Cliffjumper warned.

"Where are the Avengers?" Barricade demanded.

"You're not getting them today," Arcee said with hostile tone, ready for combat. She rushed forward as the troopers began to open fire. Cliffjumper immediately tackled Barricade.

"What are they?" Bucky asked.

"Talking cars that turn into robots," Miko guessed.

"It's the other way around," said Jack.

Bucky glared at him.

"It's hard to explain…"

Then everyone heard a loud engine, and a yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro GT appeared speeding at the Decepticons. Bumblebee transformed as the robot nearly hit Barricade, while his comrades hit the Vehicons.

"Bumblebee! Watch out for the—"

Bumblebee got attacked by the one of the troopers. He fell to the ground. All they could do was watch as the drone trained its blaster at the scout.

"Leave him alone!" Miko caught Barricade's attention, realizing how unwise it was. "Please?"

Barricade forgot about the Autobots and jumped at the humans. Bucky acted on instinct and pulled the kids out of the way. But Barricade just chased after them. He was about to get them, when one of the Vehicons flew into him, slamming them both into the concrete wall. The trio decided it was best to continue running away and not look back.

Meanwhile, Cliffjumper gestured victoriously. "Oh, yeah. Home run," he cheered.

"It's not over yet, pal," Arcee commented. The three Cons pulled themselves together, taking aim. As the Autobot trio was about to attack, they heard someone coming. They expected another Decepticon, but it wasn't. It was a familiar green car speeding up at them. In moments it turned into a hulking Autobot. Bulkhead stopped just a few feet away from his friends.

"Who's ready to rumble?" he said, aiming at the Decepticons. At that moment, all three Cons transformed and escaped.

Arcee turned to the Wrecker. "What took you?"

"Traffic," he shrugged.

* * *

They quickly went made their way to where Jack and his family resided in. He glanced up at Miko, watching her walk with a bit of annoyance in her eyes. He looked down at the ground, biting his lip. He wasn't sure what they would do once they got home, but hopefully they would find out eventually.

Bucky suddenly stopped.

"Come on, we gotta keep going," Jack said, trying to pull him.

"Just _what_ was that all about?"

Miko cringed at the accusation in his voice. "Why are you so angry?" she asked.

"Is there something I should know about?"

Jack instantly averted his gave from the older man. "Did you and my dad talk much?" he questioned.

Bucky looked at him, suspicious. "This isn't a game, kid. What's going on here? Are those things something I should be worried about?"

Jack winced. "Still not going to drop this?"

Bucky shook his head and he sighed. "Fine," he said, "but you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

"Whatever," Bucky said.

Jack took in a breath. "Okay," he began. "But you're going to have to come with us to fully know what's going on. They'll be able to tell you the entire story, because we don't know much either."

Bucky was silent for a moment. "Fine," he said. "But I don't think I'll like it."

"No one said you had to," Jack said as they continued on.

The trek had become silent. By the time they reached the farmyard, Jack motioned for them to stop before slipping into the hanger. Bucky stood back, leaning nervously against the light pole. This was it. He was going to have to face Steve again, now a father to this kid. Jack came out minutes later and motioned for them inside.

"Wow," Brains commented dryly as he stood next to Jack. "Someone's looking eager to meet aliens."

"You have no idea," Jack whispered.

"Bulkhead!" Miko exclaimed as she ran up to the green giant. "You'll never guessed what happened today…"

"I think I can guess," Bulkhead said, glancing at Bucky.

"So, who made you?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Ugh! P_lease_..." Ratchet scoffed at the boy's silly question.

"Ah, Doc Bot," Cliffjumper started.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that," Ratchet threatened.

A set of loud booming footsteps was heard and a scarlet and navy blue robot made his presence. He looked down at their newest occupants. His optics flickered when he saw Bucky. "James Barnes, I have heard a great deal about you," Optimus said. "I'm pleased to finally meet you."

Bucky faltered. "You know who I am?" he questioned.

"Steve and June would never shut up about you and the others," Arcee said.

"Like a non-stop soap opera," Miko added.

"Miko! Come on," Jack exclaimed.

Bucky kept his gaze on Optimus. "What are you exactly?"

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as Autobots," Optimus explained.

"Why are you here?" Bucky wanted to know.

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons."

"The jokers who just tried to bump you today," Wheelie added.

"Okay. Why are _they_ here?" Bucky said.

"A fair question, James. In part, they were once here because our planet was uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war," the leader explained.

"You were fighting a civil war?" Bucky asked. "How come?"

"Foremost, over the control of our wold's supply of energon, the fuel and lifeblood of our race. The combat was fierce and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother. But in wars, ideals can be corrupted, and it was thus, that Megatron lost his way."

"Is there going to be a pop quiz on this?" Miko asked as she twirled a loose strand of hair.

Jack glared at her for being rude. "You guys kept making a big deal about the Decepticons being on Earth. How should this time be any different than the last encounters?"

"Megatron has not been seen nor head from for the last twelve years," Optimus informed him. "But if his return is at hand as I fear, it could be catastrophic."

Jack shuddered.

"But since he cannot be granted access to enter Earth's atmosphere with any warships," Optimus continued as he stood up, "it would be a relief to say how he would only send a handful of soldiers to the surface. However, I fear now that should your existence be known may be problematic."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Brains questioned.

"It may be best that we will have to keep watch over Earth until we determine our enemies intentions. And find out why Megatron has decided to return after all of these years."

"Optimus," Ratchet spoke. "With all due respect, the human children are in much danger around us as they are alone."

"Children?" Jack said, not impressed of being called that.

"Then it be best to watch them carefully," Optimus concluded.

"Jack, what the hell were you and Miko thinking?"

Jack froze up. It was Steve! He wasn't supposed to be home until later that night.

"Scrap," he said.

"Quick, play cool," Miko said.

Wheelie stood there with his chest forward and his hands on his sides. He looked up at the ceiling with his lips pulled tight.

"That's not playing cool," Brains growled.

"I don't even know what that means" Wheelie stated.

"It would be best if we behave appropriately," Optimus added. "And try nothing funny." He glared at Cliffjumper when he said that.

Cliffjumper just smiled. "Who, moi?"

"Yes, you," Optimus said with a stern tone.

"Jackson William Rogers!"

Jack winced as his full name was used. He wanted to just run and hide before everything became chaos. Too late as Steve suddenly stood in the doorway.

"What were you two doing on the interstate?" Steve demanded.

"It's just a scratch, Daddy," Miko whimpered. Then she added with a smirk, "You should've seen the other guys."

"I swear, your main goal in life is to get us both killed," Jack accused.

"What did you do?" Steve was fuming, storming over to them. "Do you two have any idea what could have happened out there? I swear I—"

The super soldier gasped and stopped in his tracks. His mouth dropped open as he stared at Bucky in disbelief.

"Huh," Bucky hummed. "So, that's what you look like in an officer's uniform."

"Bucky?"

"No, it's one of the seven dwarfs," Miko mumbled under her breath.

"Can I have permission to kick her?" Jack pleaded. "Please, let me just punch her in the shoulder at least this one time—"

Steve was already moving, each footstep resonating in the hanger as he moved towards Bucky. He flung his arms around him and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. The last time he had embraced him, it was just like they were about to die. Now he held Bucky for dear life, forgetting that the world and everything else surrounding them.

A choked sob echoed through the hanger, and Steve found that it was coming from him. He couldn't put the words on how relieved and happy he was to see his old friend again.

"I think you two need to go," Ratchet told the kids, ushering them to the entryway.

"Yeah," Jack whispered. "I'll see you in the morning. Maybe." He and Miko made their way to the house. Jack winced when he saw June sitting on the steps of the porch, waiting for them. She became more alert when she saw them coming her way.

"Mom, I can explain," Jack started.

"Can you?" June said as she stood up. "I just got a call from your father. He got word that you two were near the mining area and then on the interstate with Cliffjumper. What were you two thinking? We've talked about this."

"I know, and—"

"You _don't_ know," June said. "I worry about you two enough when you're both not around. Now I have to worry about what you'll get into?"

"But we're not children anymore," Miko whined

"And you're too young to be getting into that kind of trouble," June snapped.

"Really? When did you start?" Miko demanded.

"Mom, you know we're not dumb enough to even go on a massacre," Jack intervened. "Look, I know it was stupid with what we did. But it's not like we planned it."

"Although our timing could've been better," Miko remarked.

"Point is, you're always telling me to make wise choices and to trust our instincts. Well, we chose to protect to bring Bucky here. And we'll be careful. I promise."

"Um, did you just say Bucky?"

Jack cringed.

"And where is he?"

"He's in the barn," Miko squeaked.

June shook her head. "I didn't think you'd be bringing home guests _yet_."

"Don't think it like that," Miko teased. "It's more like he brought us home." Jack just pushed her away, forcing her to laugh.

"Just get in the house," June said, "We'll continue this discussion later." As they walked inside the house, she suggested, "And you will let me know before you bring people here."

"We'll see," Jack answered. "Bucky's kind of temperamental."

Miko snorted, receiving an elbow from him.

June had made it to the doorway when Steve appeared. At first glance she saw trails of tears staining his cheeks and beard alike. She thought he was too happy to see his friend again, too mad at Jack and Miko for reckless behavior. However, looking into his eyes, she could see a hint of worry and fear in them.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Steve sighed.

"I think our cover is about to be blown," he confessed. "June, if the Decepticons are back, they might know where we live."

June felt like the very life had been sucked out of her. She turned away, afraid to look at him. After all those years, thinking that she wouldn't have to confront her worst fears, they were coming back to her like a slap on the face. She didn't want this to happen, why now? Why couldn't it happen before the team fell apart?

"You don't think he's here to start another war, do you?"

"We don't know for sure. Not unless we have enough evidence to know why they're back."

June groaned. "Why is it happening now? How can they do this to us?"

"We were fooled about them leaving, just like we were fooled once upon a time." He gently cupped her face, rubbing a thumb against her cheekbone. "We'll figure it out. Besides, we've got two kids that need explaining."

"What about the kid they brought home?"

Steve had a grim look on his face, and she knew that there was something wrong. "We'll deal with that in the morning. Now's not the time for that."

"Steve…"

He pressed his fingertips to her lips, not wanting her to be worried any further. Furiously he kissed her. She had no time to react once he pulled away. "Calm down. We'll figure it out. We have to remember what we promised. Okay?"

June couldn't help but smile. Of course she remembered that promise they made before going into hiding. It was the one thing that kept her moving through the years. She remembered coming here in a state of panic, but soon that fear lessened with each day that passed. No one had yet found their secret sanctuary. To her, it was a miracle that nobody had figured it out. Either no one cared or they were too dumb to point out who they were.

"Yes. Later, in the morning."

"Good. Now, we've got two rugrats to take of."

* * *

_Run!_

He could feel the ground beneath him tremble as he continued to run through the forest. He was supposed to be dead, but he cannot escape from the cruel reality that came raining down on him. This wasn't supposed to happen, and yet it was.

"Spread out! Push right!"

"Roll, roll, roll. Give me two. Give me two."

Something exploded near them, his son yelling and jumping to the side. He grabbed his wrist and they went into a different direction.

"Get them! Fire if you have to, but make sure they're not dead!"

"They're running! Move!"

His feet thudded hard down against the ground, not even breaking a sweat or losing sight of his son. They wove through the trees, not knowing where they were going. His only hope was to get his child to safety and lose the creeps.

"Adam, come on!"

"I'm trying to run as fast as I can, old man."

Sam's legs ached, his heart pumping blood. His lungs were burning, but they still kept on running.

"Targets lost! Targets lost!"

_And we'll keep it that way,_ Sam thought to himself.

"We gotta do something!" Adam panicked.

"You just keep running," Sam told him. He looked up ahead and noticed a small burrow in the hills. He shouted for Adam to follow and made a mad dash towards it. He shoved his son inside.

"You stay down and don't come out until I come get you," Sam instructed. "Understand?"

"What about you?" Adam said.

Sam gave him a dejected look. "I'm going to try and lose those suckers. Don't leave." With that, Sam left.

Adam laid low in his hideout and he waited. He waited for his father to come back, waited for him to return and they can continue their journey to safety. He listed for his old man, stayed in his spot, and he waited for the moment to hear footsteps and Sam giving him the okay to come out.

But he had fallen asleep. Morning came and he knew the enemy had his father.


	4. Faces of the Past

4\. Faces of the Past

Logan sighed as he leaned back against the rocky wall, after hours of walking around in the forest aimlessly. Lately his mind had been wondering on his lost love and the supposed child they would have. He blamed it on Rhodes. That man kept talking about family and how it's not just genetics; it's the bond between them, and it got him to think back on them. He wondered if they were alright and where they could possibly be. Probably in the mother's hometown back in Japan.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. The mutant groaned as he fished it out of his pocket and answered it without checking to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Hello, mutant."

Logan bolted in his seat. There was no way, it couldn't be…it had to be a nightmare. "How did you find my number?" he demanded.

"Soundwave has a knack for _those_ things."

"What do you want?"

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"Where are you, mutant?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said as he hung up. He draped his arms on his knees as he looked down in anger. This shouldn't be happening., not now. They were supposed to be gone, so why are they back?

"Well if it isn't the mutant," said a voice.

Logan looked over only to see the leader of the Decepticons standing over him. "Well, if it isn't the punk long thought to be dead," he retorted. "Not to be the one to complain, but I thought we drove you off of the planet for good long ago."

"Yes, rather unfortunate," Megatron concurred. "But I am here to make friendly terms with you."

"Oh, really," Logan said. "And what would that be?"

Something pricked him in the back of the neck. He grunted and pulled the object out. He noticed it was a small disc of sorts. Before he registered what happened, he found himself fading.

"No need to worry," Megatron sneered. "The nightmare will end for you…painfully and enjoyably."

Logan slipped into sleep, giving away to darkness.

* * *

"Jack."

He grumbled as June gently shook him. He waved her off before settling back down.

"Jack."

Still nothing.

"Jack, get out of bed or I will do something about it."

_She's bluffing,_ he thought to himself as he rolled over.

"Fine."

Suddenly he felt himself hit the floor. He bolted up, glaring up at her, seeing her hold his blanket.

"Good morning Jack," June smiled.

"It's quarter after seven!" Jack whined.

"Didn't you tell me last night to wake you up at this time?" June asked.

"Five more minutes," he asked.

June crossed her arms.

"Three more minutes?"

His mom raised an eyebrow.

"One?" he asked in a last ditch effort.

She tapped her foot.

"Fine," he grumbled.

June kissed his head and ruffled his hair.

"I love you too," she cooed as she started out the door.

Jack grumbled under his breath as he sat up. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and swept it along his forehead. June had been pestering him to get a haircut for a while, but Steve kept telling her that he's fine. Yeah, as if last night proved that to be so.

By the time he showered, dressed, and rushed down the stairs, June was ready to leave for work. Steve sat at the table, glancing up at her as if she dropped an A-bomb on him. "I just don't understand why they made you work a double shift. Honestly, we're not going broke."

"I volunteered for it," June said. "Besides, it's a training session today, and I promised Bernice I would help her daughter on this so she wouldn't be nervous the next time she goes back to college. I've got too much to worry about, and I don't want strangers to be on the list."

"That's not what I was talking about," Steve grumbled.

June gave him a hard glare. "I know you're just as concerned about this as I am, but I don't want to worry right now. I really need to get to work anyways, Steve. I'll see you all tonight."

Steve sighed. "Okay. I'll see you later."

June shook her head and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. By then, she was out of there.

Jack just stood there in the doorway, studying his own father. It was the first time he could see just how tired he looked. He came over to see just how bad the news had gotten to him. Pulling up a seat, Jack sat down next to him. "Are you okay?"

Steve sighed. "No, I'm not. And it's not your fault."

"I wasn't thinking that," Jack blurted out. He covered his mouth when he realized how fast it came out. He removed it and continued, "I mean, how are you feeling?"

Steve let out a shaky breath. "I'm really tired," he said. He drew in a breath and buried his face into his hands.

Jack flinched at the scene. He rarely saw his father cry in front of him. He never showed what he truly felt in front of him or Miko. He slowly reached out and draped an arm around him. Steve fumbled in his grasp until he held Jack close to him, burying his face into his shoulder. "I can't take this anymore. I've been…trying to k-keep you and…everyone safe but n-nothing I do matters. And it's so hard….I can't do it, Jack. I just _can't_."

Jack slowly wrapped his arms around him. "So, what? Are we just going to go on the run again?"

Steve shook his head, but it was only after a minute before he could finally speak. He dug his fingers into the fabric of Jack's jacket. "Of course not," he gasped. "How can I do that to your mother? It's just…we're hardly ever given a break."

"That's not true. I remember how you and Mom used to have fits if the Autobots so much as take a step outside at night. Now look at where we are. I don't know if you know this or not, but we've come this far in what we've started."

"But we've still got so far to go."

"If it's making you feel any better, there are some people that are starting to question those documents themselves. We'll be fine." Jack cradled Steve closely. He added softly, "Dad, it's not your fault."

Steve buried his face deeper into the fabric of Jack's sleeve in attempt to stop the tears. He tried to hold in a sob, but it silently shook his body. "It…kind of is."

"No, it's not." Jack gently pried Steve away from him. "Don't start with that. Don't even think that you are in the wrong here. Don't you _ever_ start thinking that Stark had been right about you all along. Dad, people may think you're dangerous, but you're like that because you follow your heart. Everything we've been struggling with right now isn't your fault. You've done nothing but what you believed was right. All we can do now is just go on with our lives. It's not going to blow over, and there's nothing we can do about it. Doesn't mean we can't live."

He was right, of course. Jack had made some pretty good points last night with his and Miko's trouble, but that didn't excuse the fact they were in a place that was restricted. Steve took in a deep, shuddering breath. He felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Thank you," he said, wiping the tears away. "I guess I needed that."

"I think what you need is one day off," Jack said. "Maybe the two of can doing something today, like cause chaos in town."

Steve smirked. "I think you've done enough of that already."

Jack pouted.

"Jack! Steve!"

Both men looked up. They thought for sure that the Decepticons had found them and were preparing for an attack. Instead, when Miko barged in she exclaimed, "You've gotta come see this. It's important that you do. Come on, quickly!" She rushed out of the house before any one of the two could ask any questions.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. He got up to see what the fuss was all about. Jack followed him out to the main hanger where everyone was gathered inside. Bucky had flicked on the television, something to get their minds off of what was happening, but it had just jumped to a live press conference at the White House that somehow escalated into a heated argument.

The younger man looked up and saw an African American man at a pedestal. He did not look happy, and he was arguing with someone. Jack recognized him instantly. Specialist William Fowler worked in the White House, representing NEST when the entire situation regarding towards extra-terrestrials broke out.

"Seven wrecks," Fowler yelled, "thirty-four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam, and, of particular note, numerous reports of a damage beyond what happened back in New York when Loki attacked Earth."

Jack came up from behind, interested in where this was going.

"Anything else you care to get off your chest, Ross?" Fowler demanded.

Thaddeus Ross gave him a sour look before speaking, "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler."

"You call what just happened in Prague under control?!" Fowler retorted.

Bucky glowered at the news. Ratchet and Optimus gave each other a look.

"Those things are back, aren't they?" Fowler asked.

"If you're referring to those twenty foot tall giants that were driven off, then yes," Ross confessed.

"Then it's time to wake up special forces," Fowler said.

"No one here is willing to call in criminals just because of an invasion."

Fowler glared at him. "You know, they're only criminals because you _chose_ to make them criminals."

"God, your talent for bullshit rivals my own."

"Says you!"

"Enough."

Both men turned to the man speaking. The screen switched to a man with snow white hair and bright eyes. Secretary of Defense John Keller had held a hand up.

"Listen, both of you have good points. I can understand where the other one is coming from. But you'll need more to convince me why one idea works and the other one does not. If you can, then we'll be prepared to listen. But if both of you don't put a filter on that brain-mouth thing, I'll have both of you thrown out of this operation. Understand?"

Both men agreed reluctantly.

"I would actually like to see you try to condone widespread human casualties," Ross challenged Fowler.

Fowler glared at him. "Just do us all a favor and handle this properly the right way," he said.

Miko gave Jack a look.

"Or _I_ will," he finished as he stormed off.

"For someone below his rank, he has some pretty big bearings," Bulkhead commented.

"Fowler is only concerned for his planet," Optimus said. "As he should be."

* * *

Later that night, June walked through the now empty parking lot, thoughts on the events that happened last night. To know that Miko and Jack were in a crossfire, to know that the Autobots sworn enemies were back…it was too hard to comprehend, to now know she didn't have a clue how to deal with it.

"Why is it that I have to be the one getting stuck in the middle?" she said to herself. "I mean, I have been in worse situations than that, but not when I was a mother of two teenagers getting into trouble." She sighed and looked up at the stars. "Jante, what would you have done?"

She cradled her bag. She gulped and reached into it. She stopped herself in time. "Easy there now. Easy, girl. You just received some troubling news, that's all. Stark did say you were always paranoid then."

A solid black van suddenly pulled up beside her, door opening to reveal a man with a gun pointed at her.

"Telegram!" he shouted, and shocked the nurse, knocking her unconscious.

He pulled her into the van and restrained her, climbing back into the front seat. His partner gave him a weird look "What?"

"Really, that's the best you could come up with?" his partner asked.

"Hey! I didn't hear you come up with anything better!" he retorted.

The rest of the drive was spent with the two bickering over one liners.

* * *

"What's that?" Bucky asked, poking at a piece of machinery.

"Broken," Ratchet said absentmindedly as he walked by. "Don't touch."

Bucky frowned before glancing at another object.

"Don't touch that either," Ratchet said, causing the man to gawk at him in surprised confusion.

"Is there anything in here we _can_ touch?"

Ratchet glared at the former Howling Commando member before turning back to the terminal and tapped a button. Suddenly, an error message popped up.

"How come you guys are using human computers?" Bucky asked.

"It certainly isn't by choice," Ratchet growled. "It's just scrap metal we managed to salvage from wherever we can find them. I make modifications as I see fit."

"What kinda stuff do you store on them?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Normally, we use them to run our scanners, but from time to time we store unique energy signatures to investigate later. Nothing turns up except energon or the odd relic," Ratchet stated, trying to fix the error. Instead, about a half dozen more popped up on screen. The medic snarled angrily.

Bucky smirked humorously at the medic's predicament. He reached over and started to type in madly at the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Ratchet demanded.

"Try now," Bucky said simply.

Ratchet eyed him suspiciously before pressing the same key. Suddenly, all the error messages disappeared, and the screens flashed green. "How did you…?"

"You think I had my head up in the clouds this entire time?" Bucky questioned.

Ratchet just sort of shrugged and went back to his work.

"Shouldn't Mom be back here by now?" Jack asked.

"What time does she usually get off?" Bucky asked.

"She mostly gets the day shifts," Jack said. "She'll sometimes do the evenings when she has to."

"Maybe she got caught in traffic," Bucky suggested.

"Bucky, she always comes home at this time," Miko frowned.

"So? Doesn't a train run through this town?" Bucky said.

"She's _always_ here at this time, no matter what! If she had something going on, she would call."

Jack cursed under his breath. He jumped to his feet and ran out the door. Steve had already barged from out of the house, a worried look on his face. "Dad!"

"Jack? Did your mother call you?"

"No. No one else can get a hold of her either."

Steve swore under his breath. "Arcee!"

"On it." Arcee rushed forward and transformed, her engines roaring. Steve jumped onto her before they took off into the night.

"You think she'll be okay?" Brains asked, coming up to Jack.

"Mom is a tough woman," Jack said. "She's known to be very careful, yet ambitious."

"Um, Miko doesn't look like it."

"What do you mean?"

"She's just staring out into space and…well, look," Wheelie explained.

Jack didn't need to hear anymore to know what was going on. He quickly made a mad dash for the house and tore through the living room to get upstairs. He had to get into Miko's room to find what he was looking for. He ran back to the hanger without breaking a sweat and towards the hangout. Miko was sitting exactly as the transtechs described. However, the moment he showed up, she blinked and looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, handing Miko her sketchpad and a pencil.

The girl held her prize possessions close to her chest. "I saw something," she said. "It looked like a bald eagle being attacked by…well, monsters."

Everyone turned to her with wide eyes/optics.

"It's a trap," Ratchet whispered.

"Autobots! Let's roll!" Optimus boomed. He quickly transformed, everyone following in suit, and they tore out of the yard towards the town.

"Are they going to be okay?" Miko wondered, glancing up at Jack.

Bucky trembled in his seat. "This is exactly what I was afraid of. They've come back after all this time."

"But why?" Jack asked.

Bucky snorted. "Isn't it obvious? To finish where they left off years ago. There's no way those punks will just quit, even after we drove them off."

Jack closed his eyes, trying to calm himself and take steady breathes. He came over and sat down next to the older man.

"Okay, enough of that." Bucky placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Your old man ain't gonna let some punk take him. Steve's a lot tougher than you think."

"Even before the serum?" Miko asked.

Bucky glared at her. "Even before than."

Jack only hoped so.

* * *

Minutes were passing by quickly. Miko sat on the couch, waiting for something to pop up on the news. Jack sat in a chair, his head resting on his arms. Bucky stared out into the open space. Where were Steve and June? Where were the Autobots? Are they safe? Were they kidnapped? Jack wanted to know. Both of his parents had never been gone this long before in his life had he recalled. The Autobots were different when it came to an odd relic or an energon signature popping up unexpectedly on the monitors. So, what was taking them all this long?

Miko perked up suddenly. "I think I hear them coming."

Overwhelmed with relief, Jack dashed towards the entryway before Bucky could make a move. The boy skidded to a halt when he saw the Autobots' condition. They were in bad shape. It was like they were beaten with wrecking balls. An understatement, but it was the first thing that came to Jack's mind.

Miko looked around in the farmyard before she turned to the Autobots. "Where's Steve? Where's June?"

Optimus looked at the children before he turned away, his head bowed. Bucky looked like he had been slapped.

Jack felt like the world had been torn apart and cast into space. A small sound escaped his throat. All remained silent as he sank to the ground, falling into disbelief, disappointment, and sorrow.

* * *

Ever since Jack was a boy, he had always been fascinated with stories that involved magic and science, warfare and aliens. One of his favorites were the stories of Captain America, who had been part a program to make super soldiers. Afterwards, he had crashed into the ice. There wasn't a trace of his body. It was ironic, yet good that they did, because Captain America was his father.

That was the main reason June had been hesitant to allow Jack a glimpse of their world at such a young age. Both of them had seen and done things in their lives. It was a little bit embarrassing all at the same time when Steve had teased June about the relationship between her and the Autobots. It resulted him flying into the wall and June acting like nothing had happened. Then after the clash, both of them weren't sure about having him raised with the Autobots around, especially with huge chances of the Decepticons returning.

And they have returned. Poisoning Cybertron's core didn't seem to satisfy Megatron enough to see that he was destroying so much life. He had to turn on other species and make them suffer. If it hadn't for him, one would suppose, June wouldn't have gotten caught up in the war, wouldn't have met Steve, and he wouldn't have been born. And everyone would be a happy family.

The memories weren't so terrible, but they were not so pleasant either. All of them hurt, the constant words and fights and every little detail that still made him upset to that day. The sting of each words that were traded, the harsh accusations that came from nowhere, the pain of seeing a future built for him ripped apart.

That was all set to the side when he gave thought on Miko's point of view on the situation. No one found fault in her way of reacting towards the disappearance, not after how they learned of her witnessing her mother's death in front of her and being abducted from her own home. He wanted to scold her for making a mess in her own room when Raf was out of earshot. He knew, however, that he was failing to restrain the anger and sadness that he had been trying to hold in. It was the first time he saw her plead to whatever deity she worshiped for their safe return.

Optimus had approached them. Jack thought for sure that he was to scold them for the damages done. But when he'd approached them, the Autobot commander spoke with a different manner, taking the blame and guilt for not protecting them both like he had promised. After that, Jack was left alone again. Who knew why the Decepticons would want to kidnap his parents. For all he knew, the accords finally caught wind and took them. The kind Brains called a "bunch of good-for-nothing amateurs that were too insecure and needed to put the blame on someone who they felt deserved it to make themselves feel superior." Something that Bucky even agreed on.

Bucky, Jack sighed. It was painful, however, because now he felt like his parents were being replaced. They had been suffering enough already now with having to rear him up in life and protect him from their own past. Those were the bad memories that had been coming back at a dark place that no man wanted to venture back to. The only good thing that came out of it was that he had been given a full family to have when he met him before everything happened. From then on, it felt good and right once more.

Then last night happened, and it was happening all over again.

He turned away from the others and sulked into the woods behind the house. He didn't deserve to let them see him this state. They were too old to understand what he was feeling right now, and he could not let them see how worried and upset he was.

From the very start he had suspected it was a trap. He had grown up learning what people did and what was wrong if those things fell out of line. He had thought there was a chance someone had captured June to lure Steve into a trap and yet he didn't have the guts to plead for his dad to stay, to figure out what was happening. The will to stay put had now cost their lives. If he hadn't stayed quiet, maybe he would at least have one parent around to continue to see him excel school. Why did he stay quiet? Why couldn't he find the will to take a stand, to ask to help, to do _something_?

A hand suddenly grabbed the collar of his jacket. Jack cried out, swinging a fist. He was flipped onto his back, small thin twigs digging into his skin and clothes. He winced. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the attacker. Female, in a yellow and black body suit, with customized glass insect wings and a gray steely helmet. This was not what he expected to go up against. Didn't matter, he was not going to let anyone beat him down.

Jack kicked the woman in the knees, making her stumble backwards. Then he rolled over and used his strength to push his attacker to the ground. A fist collided with his cheek, not hurting as much as it should, but Jack only winced and pinned her to the ground.

"I don't care if the law was broken or not," Jack hissed. "You are not going to get Bucky. You are not going to get Miko. And you will not get me or the rest of my family either. Weren't my parents enough?!"

The woman, who was struggling to escape from his grasp, suddenly froze. The eyes behind the yellow visor were wide open.

"Jack?"

Jack froze. He almost recognized the tone in that voice, and since he wasn't fighting to protect and to survive he took a long good look into the woman's eyes. They looked familiar, like…

"Hope?"

"Holy cow, it is you!" Hope breathed. Her helmet popped open and he could see her face now — nowhere over twenty, and she looked like she just came out of a fight before this one. She was smiling, her eyes shining with relief. He may have only been four years old at the time everyone scattered, but there was no way anyone could forget that face.

"How…Why…?" Jack couldn't get any questions out as he helped her up.

"I was hoping I would find you guys here. I was afraid that you wouldn't be too friendly towards us if we ever crossed paths. Is there anyone else with you?" Hope frowned. She looked past him, trying to find out to see who else was with him.

"Um, yeah. Bucky and Miko are here, and the Autobots…"

"Bucky's here?" Hope looked elated. "Wait, who's Miko?"

"You need to come with me," Jack said, ignoring her question. "Bucky and the Bots would want to hear your story."

Hope grinned. "Then lead the way."

Jack rolled his eyes with a smile. He would never admit it, but it made him happy to see a face from the past, even though he suspected she came here for a reason.

* * *

"You don't understand," Miko argued. "I've known Jack since I got here. He doesn't just wander off as if there were no mañana."

"Maybe we should check the chimney pipe," Wheelie suggested.

"Jack couldn't fit down the chimney pipe," Arcee said.

"That's right," Wheelie nodded. "He almost could have. Which is exactly how I got stuck down there."

"I was squashed between you and the walls," Brains reminded him.

"What's your point?" Wheelie spat.

Everyone looked up at the sound of footsteps padding across the ground. In the next second Jack rounded the corner of the open doorway. He had a troubled look on his face.

"Jackson?" Optimus spoke. "Is something wrong?"

Jack made a gesture with his head. Pretty soon, Hope was standing right next to him. Everyone stood there in awe as they looked at the young woman.

"Nice look you've got going on, Bucky. Been watching too much of _Jesus_ _Christ_ _Superstar_?" Hope grinned.

"Funny, I was just—"

"Welcome home, Hope," Wheelie greeted.

"Merry Christmas!" Brains exclaimed.

Wheelie gave his partner a confused look.

"It was long overdue."

"Um, you kinda picked a bad time to come see us," Cliffjumper whispered.

"I know," Hope nodded. "I don't usually plan my visits during the daytime. These days it seems like time's nonexistent when you're on the run. I'm still running."

"Visits?" Ratchet questioned.

"Yeah, I've been trying to find everyone!" she beamed.

"You mean the Avengers?" Arcee frowned.

"Why would I do that?" Hope scoffed. "No, I've been finding the other kids."

"WHAT?!" Ratchet almost shouted.

"What other kids?" Miko inquired. Jack stood by the doorway, wondering about the nature of her visit. His eyes lit up with curiosity at the mention of the "other kids."

"I found most of them," Hope stated, ignoring her questions. "Well, Raf's been living with me for a while now. Then I found Sierra. Oh, I found Vince too! Briana's been in England this entire time and…" She frowned, trying to see who else there was. "Oh, Adam was in Peru the last time I checked. I just need to talk to Steve and June. Where are they?"

"Megatron's got them," Bulkhead grumbled.

"What?" Hope looked up. "They got kidnapped too?"

Everyone glared at her.

"What do you mean?" Bucky questioned, narrowing his eyes. _"Where's_ Hank?"

"Probably where Steve and June are, no doubt," Ratchet growled.

Bumblebee made a statement of his own.

"Yeah, why are you finding these kids?" Bulkhead asked.

"I'm trying to bring us all together," Hope explained.

"So you can become targets of the accords as well?" Ratchet spat.

"Better — we are going to disappear."

"What?" Jack choked. "Run away? We all did that twelve years ago!"

"Not like that," Hope waved off the remark. "We're pretty much having some time away from the world is all. We'll come back once everyone has their time to heal."

"What are you suggesting?" Arcee asked.

"There's an island off the coast of Canada. On it is an abandoned military base. It's huge — we're talking the size of Jasper here. We'll be able to escape from civilization for a while. The problem is getting there."

"I am right here," Ratchet growled.

"What sort of military base are we talking about?" Optimus asked.

"Um, how many of you heard of Fort Jefferson?"

Jack raised a brow. "Seriously?"

"That's what I thought when I first saw it. Anyways, it's completely stocked with enough food and gardens and all sorts of goods to last for years. And there's access to WiFi and technology."

"This is awesome!" Miko shrieked excitedly. "Let's go right now!"

"We'll have to take the animals," Jack decided.

"What?" Miko cried. "Why?"

"We can't just leave them here all by themselves," Jack said. "It's not fair. Besides, they can be our lifeline. We'll guard everything we've got with our lives."

Bucky snorted. "It'll be like Noah's Ark."

"It'll be better than what we had when we first came here," Arce retorted.

"Good. Just be prepared for what comes next. I told everyone to meet in Wisconsin, but it'll be dangerous. I'll just have to get back to them and change the designation to here. Once we've all made it, we'll get started."

"I just have one question: how did you find out we were here?" Jack asked.

Hope shrugged.

**"It's your mom's hometown. How I can I not remember that?"**


	5. All Together Again

5\. All Together Again

The first thing that registered in her mind, as she gained consciousness, was the cold air that hit her body. She shivered. It was like someone had dropped her into the Arctic Circle, pulled her out of the freezing water, and then kept her in a meat locker for years. Yeah, that pretty much sounded right. It couldn't sound any stupider than that, right?

Groaning softly, June sat up, only to be hit by a wave of vertigo. She groaned again; she felt like she was going to throw up. A pair of hands gently held her in her spot until it passed over.

"June, don't move too much. They've injected us with whatever it was to keep us from fighting back."

Rhodes? June slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head to look around. The room was dark, the only light coming from the single lamp dangling from above. It took her moments for her eyes to adjust. Placed in the doorway was an iron grid door with the spaces too small for them to squeeze through.

And there he was. Rhodes was supporting her, to keep her from falling over. Then she noticed the others as well. Sam, Tony, Steve, even Logan…and Hank. When she took a good look at those two she almost bowled over at the sight of them. What had happened to them? They looked about ten years older than they should've been, and their hair was white with hollow eyes. What was everyone doing in the past twelve years during their separation?

"Where are we?" Steve asked in a groggy voice.

"Not in heaven," Hank smirked slightly.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" June glanced at Tony for an answer. She noticed now that even he had graying hair and bloodshot eyes. Why? He didn't need to go on the run like the rest of them did. What had he been doing to himself? Or his son and Pepper? Oh god, Pepper! How was she doing right now?

"That's exactly what I'd like to know!" Logan demanded. "Why are those morons back? We don't have anything for them to come tailing back to."

"Except for the Autobots," Sam whispered in realization.

"Who got caught first?" Steve wondered, looking at the men.

"My bet's on Stark," Logan said.

"What gave it away?" Tony tried to make a joke of it, but the black eye indicated he wasn't happy about the situation at all.

"I wanna know who's gonna be next," Sam grinned.

"Oh, god." Hank leaned over, resting his elbows against his upper legs, rubbing his face in exasperation.

"Does anyone even know what's happening here?" June hissed. "I thought I was kidnapped by a bunch of thugs in a van, not by some giant bastards that decided to lock us all away one by one."

Steve's eyes narrowed in worry, almost to a frown. June glanced over at him, wondering if he was okay, until he looked over into her direction. A silent question seemed to pass between the two of them — where were the children?

"Maybe you were kidnapped by thugs, only to wind up with us," Tony sighed.

"Then this is our own personal hell," Sam grumbled.

"I've had worse," Tony shrugged.

"Yeah, we know," Rhodes said. "Just stop."

"We've all had one," Logan huffed. "You're not the only one to have crap blown up in your face."

"Why couldn't God have taken me instead?" Hank grumbled.

Sam glared at Logan. "How did they manage to get you?"

"Well, funny you should ask…"

Everyone looked up when they heard shouting. Russian words were spewed out in anger. Sam climbed to his feet and walked towards the door. He peered through the bars to see what the fuss was about. He quickly jumped back as a Vehicon approached the door. All seven of them watched as it shoved in Natasha and Clint through a small vent from up above before it left.

"Huh. Maybe this will be less boring now," Tony said.

"Shut up," Logan rumbled.

Clint whipped around. He couldn't help grinning at one of the occupants. "Well, look at who it is, ladies and gentlemen. The Futurist is here! He sees all. He knows what's best for you even if you don't like it."

Tony looked like he was ready to kill him, but Clint continued on.

"So, Stark? How does it actually feel like to have karma bite you in—"

"Clint," Steve warned him.

"I wished they just killed us so we didn't have to sit through this mess again," Sam shook his head.

"Does anyone know what's going on here?" Natasha asked, looking around at the others.

"If you call this 'knowing what's up,' then sure," Tony sighed.

"Oh, bet you money Stark got caught first," Clint grinned.

"Why does everyone assume that I was the first to get thrown in the brig?" Tony asked, exasperated.

"Because it was you and Rhodes when they threw me in," Hank said.

"Damn, he's still got a good memory," Tony grumbled, ignoring Hank's icy glare.

"So, no one has an idea as to why they took us?" Steve looked to the others for answers.

"That's a good question," Sam said.`

"In that case, we've got nothing to worry about," Logan said.

"Except for any family we created our own during the course of the past twelve years," June put to the mutant.

Natasha had been busy doing a headcount now to not care how messy these conversations would get. "So, either we're here or we're not here. Who are we missing so far?"

"Thor, Bruce, and Peter," Hank counted off.

"They also need to get a hold of Bucky," June added.

"I'd like to see them try and get the first two," Sam said.

"So, we still have a choice to make." Steve looked at June, Sam, and Natasha.

"I'm sorry, what are we talking about?" Tony looked at them, clearly confused.

"Yeah, are we going to fill in Clint and the others? 'Cause Clint and the others think that Clint and the others should know what's going on if we're gonna die," Clint said. He glared at Natasha, wondering what she kept from him that could have been important. When she looked at him, he could tell that he absolutely did not want to have a conversation on this. Yeah, he probably didn't plan to die today. So, he kept his mouth shut and said nothing else.

"Well, we can either just find a way to get out of here and go on with our lives like we never saw each other…" June said, her eyes glancing at the doorway.

"Or, we can escape and fight the Cons now!"

Everyone glared at Sam.

"And avoid getting killed as usual," Sam quickly went on.

"How exactly are we going to beat them without our equipment? In case you haven't noticed, that didn't go well the last time," Logan scowled at everyone.

"We were tricked the last time," Steve insisted. "Also, now we might have a better idea what we're in."

"I can't believe this is what we're up against," Tony grumbled. "Can you, Rhodey?" He waited for an answer from his friend. He glanced over when he didn't receive one, but he didn't find him in sight. "Rhodey?"

"Where did he go?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, about that…" Hank gestured upward with his head. Everyone looked up. Sure enough, while they had been arguing, Rhodes had been scaling the doorway, gripping one bar after the other, despite his paralysis. He had been studying the entryway that they had been pushed through. If he could get up there and tamper with it, see what could be done to get them out of there, then maybe they could finally escape and go back to the lives they've built in secret.

"Wow, look at him go," Clint said.

Rhodes finally made it to the top. The window was only reachable by arm length. Grasping the bar he clung to with one hand, he carefully reached up and tried to dip his fingertips underneath the glass. Much to his surprise, he felt it push back a little. What? He pushed it back, surprising it moved with his hand. He yanked his free hand back, watching the entryway swinging. The others were just staring in confusion as he looked down at them with a goofy grin.

"Hey, Tony? How many of these guys does it take to—"

"Just shut up and see if anyone is coming," Tony sibilated.

Rhodes pushed the glass outward and peeked down the hall. He looked this way and that, pulling his head back in when he saw that coast was clear. "Nobody's coming. Wait." He peeked outside again.

"Now what?" Logan groaned.

"Get your greasy metallic hands off of me! You will taste my wrath if you do not unhand me."

"Huh, guess he wasn't as hard as they thought," Sam said.

Rhodes quickly scrambled down the door and jumped onto the floor as another Vehicon began to approach. There was a sharp yelp and a stumble along the metal flooring. The Vehicon was trying hard not to trip over its two feet as it finally managed to reach the door. Quickly and harshly, it dropped Thor inside before running down the hall.

"You will suffer for this, you gargantuan beast!" Thor screamed. He panted angrily and turned. He was shocked to see his old friends in the same cell as he. "Hey, what's everyone doing here?"

"We like to know that ourselves," Tony responded. He threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Nice haircut," was all Clint said.

"I noticed half of you are starting to copy my beard, like I suggested."

June smiled and rolled her eyes. She remembered that conversation well. It always brought a smile to her face, always will.

"See, I tell you guys to accessorize a little more and you finally listen to me," Thor said.

"Um, this is not the time for that," Rhodes said. "We've got to bust ourselves out of here."

"How are we going to do that without letting the Cons know?" Sam inquired.

"We're running out of options here," Steve said quickly, glancing at the doorway and then at the others. "We have to decide what we're doing. Now."

Everyone looked around, waiting for someone to decide what they were going to do.

"Maybe one of us can leave," Clint spoke. "Find the others and warn them about what's happening."

"It should be Logan," June blurted out. She hadn't meant to say it so quickly, but the thought of Miko finally meeting her dad would put some ease on herself. The girl could finally get to know the man that could have potentially conceive her.

"Me?" Logan questioned.

"Well, if any of us can fight and not die at the same time," Rhodes nodded, "it should be him."

"We better hurry. We've got minutes before someone comes here," Natasha warned.

Logan didn't waste any time. He reached up onto the bars and crawled up towards the small doorway. In one swift motion, he managed to go through it and jump down to the other side, albeit with caution. Once he landed on the ground, he looked at them all one last time with a nod before he took off.

"He's on his own now," Hank said.

"Let's hope he can jump back," June prayed. She failed to notice Tony blinking in confusion.

"Um, jump back?"

Everyone glared at him.

"Yeah, as in to get off of this ship and then come back," Natasha said.

"Oh," Tony said. "Um, yeah. For him to do that, he's gotta find access off of this place before he can call for an SOS."

The room was completely silent.

"Why didn't you say something?" Sam demanded.

"You didn't ask," Tony shrugged.

* * *

Three days. It had only been three days since Hope had shown up at the farm. Three days since she took Bucky and they left to get Raf. It was only a matter of time before they would get all of the other kids together. Hope gave herself until the end of the month to locate Victor, then they would make plans to get to the island.

Miko was too busy doodling in her drawing pad. It wasn't something that was just related to her gift. She found it to be a hobby that she developed growing up on the farm. The Autobots were talking among themselves, softly that Jack couldn't hear. Both Brains and Wheelie were tinkering with an engine in the far corner in the front of the room. Jack himself was lounging on the couch, working on a crossword puzzle. It was a pretty good start of the morning to say.

"Blast it!" Ratchet groaned. "An energon's signal popped back online."

"How is that possible?" Optimus asked as he came in from outside.

"It isn't," Ratchet replied. He gestured at the screen in disgust. "Another system's _chock_ full of them!"

"Ratchet, prepare the ground bridge," Optimus ordered, as his battle mask closed shut. "We may need the supply."

"What can we do?" Miko asked, hoping to put up another fight.

Optimus looked at the children. "You know what to do, Miko," he reminded her as he approached a long empty tunnel.

Miko gave a disappointed pout as did Ratchet, causing Jack to chuckle at the medic's expense.

Suddenly the tunnel lit up with a massive, swirling green vortex, and the Autobots approached it. "Autobots," Optimus called. "Transform and roll out." And the five transformed to vehicle mode, driving into the vortex, each one disappearing in a flash of light. Then the portal closed.

Jack couldn't help grinning. He still remembered Hope's reaction when the Autobots went to the island to check it out for themselves.

_"Whoa," Hope gasped. "What just happened?"_

_"I transported them to the designated coordinates via ground bridge," Ratchet stated._

_"What's that?" Hope asked._

_Ratchet sighed and turned back to the computer. "It's more of a scaled down version of a space bridge," he grumbled. "Kind of like the Bifrost, but it takes a lot more power than that. Since we don't currently possess the means, or the energon, required for intergalactic travel…"_

_"You're stuck here," Bucky finished. "On Earth."_

_"Well, yes," Ratchet said. "But I constructed the ground bridge to enable us to travel from here to ___anywhere___ on the planet."_

_"Does it work for humans?" Hope asked._

_"Naturally," Ratchet stated with a hint of pride._

_"He even said that it could take me to Tokyo just like that," Miko added with the snap of her fingers._

_"Within moments," Ratchet said. An evil grin suddenly formed on his face plate. "In fact..."_

The hanger shook suddenly, causing the others to hang onto something. Animals could be heard clamoring outside. Jack grabbed Miko before she could fall over.

"What was that?" Brains gasped.

"It must've been an earthquake," Jack said.

"Just like that?!" Miko didn't believe it for a second. Then her eyes lit up. "Maybe it's the Cons coming for round two!"

Ratchet shook his helm. "No. That couldn't have been a Decepticon." He paced towards the door. Jack and Miko looked at each other before they got up and followed the medic.

The sun was rising in the eastern sky. Not too far from the house in the fields, charred remains of grass was still smoking. The medic could make out a figure in the center, trembling and shivering. Jack rushed forward to check on the person, only to draw back sharply.

"Jackson, what is it?" Ratchet asked.

Jack gestured at the person. Ratchet took a closer look at him, only to draw back.

"Dude! Is it Iron Man? That would be totally sweet if it were him right now," Miko squealed in excitement.

Jack shook head. He glared at her from over his shoulder. "Miko…"

"Or maybe it's one of the other Avengers?" Miko rambled on. "Actually, that sounds super weird. People falling from the sky? I get that the government does a lot of pretty weird stuff—"

"Miko!"

Miko froze. Jack had been practicing his own form of shouting while using Steve's "Listen to me or I'll give you a two hour lecture on American principles" tone. It meant for her to shut up.

"It's Loki."

"What?!" Wheelie cried as he and Brains approached them.

"Jackson, are you sure?" Ratchet asked.

Jack gestured towards the man's face, and all of them jolted back upon recognizing the graceful, aquiline form, despite looking like he had just come out of a firefight. Ink black hair splayed over the lawn, the ends smoking.

"Guys?" Miko said worriedly. "What do we do now?"

"Quickly, get him up," Ratchet ordered. "We have to get him medical help."

"Huh?" Jack seemed incredulous about the idea. "Are you sure you want to do that? He's not a—"

"I know what he did!" Ratchet snapped. He vented a sigh from his systems and spoke calmly, "But I work by a code, and I will not abandon it now of all times. You should have known this, Jack, since your parents work for the law and the people."

Jack gulped and nodded. He carefully wrapped an arm around Loki's waist, trying not to disturb the Norse god of mischief. He sat him up as Ratchet gently placed his hand beneath Loki's body. The medical officer cradled him in his hands as they took off to the hanger.

"June and Steve are gonna freak about this," Miko realized as they got inside. "What are we even going to do if they found out? Worse yet, what about the others? What will happen when the whole world finds out he's here?"

"We will worry about that later," Ratchet told her. "I will notify Optimus of the situation when we have the entire matter settled." He grumbled under his breath. "Blast it. I need you two to go into town to fetch something."

Jack peered up to see what Ratchet was searching for. He didn't have to ask directly what was needed. Most of the medical stuff they had kept there, and there was no way he would ask for assistance from June's co-workers. He knew where else they would go.

"Come on, Miko," Jack said, making his way towards a shed.

"Gee, I wonder what we'll talk about on the way there," Miko mumbled. She stomped out of the hanger behind him.

"What's with her?" Wheelie asked Brains.

"I don't know," his friend shrugged in return.

* * *

"I can't believe we're actually doing this!"

Jack groaned as they exited the drug store. _Here we go again._

"Even right now, you're feeling sorry for the same guy who attacked New York years ago," Miko said.

"We weren't even alive when that happened," Jack reminded. "And I know how you feel. But that guy is hurt, and we would be stooping down to a dangerous level if we didn't help him. And if anyone here even finds out about him or gives him so-called fair justice for his crimes…"

"We would be in more trouble than our own folks," Miko finished.

"Right," Jack confirmed. "Just relax for right now and don't mention this to anyone."

They had just turned a corner when they heard people chanting. The older teen craned his neck to find Trent DeMarco, the captain of the football team and the most well known bully, holding a boy as another jock tried to stuff some food in his mouth.

"Oh, no," Jack said.

"What?" Miko asked as he stormed over, taking off his jacket.

"Yo, Darby," Trent called out. "Take a shot of this."

"Come on, Trent," Jack said. "Put the kid down."

"Take the picture, Darby," Trent repeated.

"Put him down," Jack ordered.

"Take the picture," Trent snarled.

"Put him down _now_ or the next lunch tray I carry will be shoved up your nose!" Jack snapped. The crowd went silent as Trent set the kid down.

"Yeah, bully! Leave him alone!" Miko yelled.

"Or what?" he asked mockingly. "You gonna hit me?"

"What's the matter? Afraid of losing to me?" Miko questioned cockily. She didn't show fear of him. Actually, Miko let everyone in school know she thought of Trent to be a coward, bullying others just because he felt insecure.

Trent glared at Miko. "Get in line. I'll deal with you after I'm done with Dork-by," he announced, storming over.

But it was Trent who was grabbed from behind and thrown backwards. Jack and Miko looked at the newcomer. He was a teenage black boy with short dark hair. He was wearing a Wolf Pack t-shirt and black sweatpants and black gloves.

"Hey!" the boy snapped. "Pick on somebody your own size."

"Who are you, freak?" Trent asked.

"The name's Adam," he answered, folding his arms. "Addy for friends…which you clearly are _not_."

Trent growled. He was turning red and was about to charge. Adam took a careful stance, ready to defend himself in case. Trent took a few deep breaths and calmed down. Then he turned around and walked away, as if nothing happened.

Or so it seemed. "This isn't over," Trent pointed at Jack before finally leaving. As everyone left, Adam turned and walked towards the two bullied kids.

"We may have just met, but I think you _like_ to be threatened," he stated.

"Just telling him what's right," Jack said.

Adam laughed. "In this dinky little town? No one follows the rules that much. So, who's your friend?" he asked, gesturing at Miko.

"Right. This is Miko, my sister" he introduced.

Adam blinked. "You're Jack and Miko?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered uneasily.

"Whoa, I didn't think I would have been able to find you this easily," Adam said. "I mean, Hope said you would be in this town, but I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to be able to find you. She never got into any specifics. I'm Adam Wilson, Sam's kid. Y'know, the Falcon?"

"No, we know," Jack said. "We just didn't think you would show up this early."

"Hope said you were in Peru," Miko pointed out.

Adam frowned. "I was in Peru. We were just making our way through Mesoamerica. We were just close to the borders between Mexico and the United States when we realized we were being followed by bad people. We only made it to New Mexico when they finally caught onto us. They took my dad!" He hung his head. "What am I gonna do? I promised my dad I would stay by his side and I failed him."

Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. "Can you explain it to us on the way back? We don't know for sure who could be listening."

Adam sighed through his nose. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

* * *

"This is it?" Adam asked, less impressed when he saw the small ranch.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Jack said.

"Ready for an adventure?" Miko squealed.

"How do we know that nobody knows where you live?" Adam wondered.

"Either no one actually knows who we are, or else they just don't care," Jack said. "We'll be fine. Just as long as no one notices anything strange happens."

"That sounds relieving," Adam mumbled sarcastically before Jack stopped him.

"Before we go inside the big hanger, I need you to promise me to not freak out about what you're about to see," Jack said. "You have to swear it."

Adam grinned. "What is this? A secret club?"

"Just swear it!" Jack said.

Adam's smile broadened, and he held up a hand. "I solemnly swear that I will not fly into a stage of fright, nor will I tell a soul what I'm about to see, so help me God."

Jack blinked. He wasn't expecting something like that. He glanced over at Miko. She was shaking in her spot, trying hard not to laugh.

"Right. Follow me inside," Jack motioned.

Ratchet was busy in his own corner, trying to find the right tool to use when they had entered. Adam's eyes were wide open at the sight of the medical officer, until his eyes landed on the man resting on the couch in the hangout area. "Who is that?" he asked.

Ratchet gasped and looked up. Both of the transtechs perked from the couch as Adam gave a careful inspection.

"Adam, wait!" Jack cried out.

It was too late. Adam's eyes widened as he noticed the unconscious man's long raven-black hair. "Oh, my god."

"Adam, we can explain," Jack quickly said.

Adam didn't bother to listen. He raced up the steps and rushed to Loki's side. He knelt down and carefully examined the man. "He looks fine," he confirmed after a while. "He's just forming lesions and might have a few broken bones in his ribs (which I strongly recommend we keep a careful eye on), along with the left collarbone, shoulder blade, and a second degree burn right here. There is a chance that his left wrist is sprained. He could wake up traumatized from the accident he was in, but other than that he'll be fine."

All five residents looked at each other. This wasn't what they expected from one of them.

"Just what exactly happened to him?" Adam looked at them.

Miko and Jack glanced at each other.

"He just…fell from the sky," Jack replied.

"Fell from the sky?" Adam looked incredulous. "That's it? From _where_?"

Ratchet threw his hands in the air. "How should we even know? He just appeared out of nowhere."

Adam turned his attention back to the comatose god of mischief. "Loki? Hey man, are you okay?" He reached out and gently placed his hand on the man's shoulder. Loki's eyes shot wide open with a strangled cry escaping his thin lips. Adam quickly shot back from the man.

"Whoa, easy on the wake-up call!" Miko exclaimed, raising her hands up in surrender. "We're not the bad guys here."

Loki barely paid attention. His eyes kept darting from one to the other in the room. He pulled his feet up onto the sofa, still keeping his eyes on them.

"He's coming," he stammered. "He's coming."

Miko and Jack looked at each other. Adam gave them a funny look.

"Who is?" Ratchet asked.


	6. Frozen

6\. Frozen

Loki had passed out after his panic attack. By the time he had reawakened, Jack and Adam had finished making the cast for his arm and made certain there were no further damages.

"So, what's the story behind them?" Adam asked about the Autobots.

"Long story short," Jack said, "my mom knew them before she met my dad and they've been living with us for the last twelve years."

"And her?" Adam nodded at Miko.

"Adopted," Miko grinned. Then she got serious and gave a sideways to Loki. "So, what happens to him now?"

"That's a good question," Jack replied. "Let's wait and see how Hope and Bucky will take it when they get here."

"Hope and Bucky?" Adam asked.

The screen lit up suddenly. Ratchet was already typing in the key commands to answer the call. "Hope?"

"Ratchet, get us back," Hope sounded frantic from the other side. "Like, now!"

A blaze of green, blue, and silver flashed to life in the large tunnel again. Bucky and Hope sprinted through as fast as they could. Ratchet shut the bridge off violently before anyone else could get through.

"Cutting it a bit close," the medical officer said.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Bucky grumbled.

It was then Jack noticed he was holding someone. His eyes nearly widened at the sight of the stranger. He was just a kid! His light brown hair was spiked and his brown eyes were squinted behind a pair of glasses. He looked tired, but his yellow and purple plaid jacket with a gray hood seemed to look clean.

"You must be Raf." Adam leaped over the railing and approached the group. "Hi, I'm Adam."

"How did you get here so fast?" Hope asked, hands on her hips.

"I'd put that question to you," Adam responded.

Bucky set Raf down. "You okay, kid?"

"Y-yeah, I'm good," Raf said. He reached up to readjust his glasses. "That was actually scary."

"Jackson, why don't you and Miko show our…younger guests around the farmyard?" Ratchet advised.

Jack nodded, understanding what he meant. They wouldn't want to be around when the two older humans found Loki in their company. He took Raf's hand and guided them outside.

"So, Raf," Adam started. "Where are you from?"

"F-far from here," Raf shivered. "Is this a ranch?"

"Something like that," Jack said. "Dad runs it while Mom works at the town hospital."

"Oh. Where are the farmhands?" Raf asked.

"Farmhands?" Jack sounded confused.

"You know, the people hired to help around here," Raf said.

"Um, we don't have any," Jack answered nervously.

"Can't imagine why," Adam shook his head.

The faint sound of shouting came from behind. They turned around to find Hope storming out of the hanger, throwing her arms up in the air. She didn't look enthusiastic as she had coming back. Bucky was behind her, trying to get her to calm down, but she was having none of it. She pushed him away and continued to rant as he persisted to reason with her.

"Well, she certainly took it well," Miko said.

"It's the Autobots that I'm worried about," Jack sighed.

"What's an Autobot?" Raf asked. "And why are you worried about them?"

"Ratchet, bridge us back. Use the arrival coordinates. Now!"

Jack gasped. He quickly scrambled back to the doorway with the others behind him. A flash of light was brought to life in the tunnel again. Optimus and Bulkhead came in carrying a large container through the wide open bridge. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper followed behind closely, trying to support Arcee. Ratchet shut the bridge down once they were all through.

"What have you got?" he asked.

"It is still undetermined at this point," Optimus said as they set their finding down.

"Bee and I will go put this back in the storage room," Bukhead said. He picked up one end and Bumblebee took the other. Together, they hauled it towards the back to the building connected at the rear.

"Arcee, are you okay?" Cliffjumper asked.

"I'm fine," her voice cracked. Suddenly, her legs gave out and her optics dimmed as she fell to the floor. Cliffjumper caught her in time.

"Arcee?!"

"I'm fine," she muttered. "Just woozy."

"Robots who get dizzy?" Adam asked.

"Robots with emotions," Miko said.

"Robots…who can die," Jack concluded with eerie finality.

Ratchet ran his scanner over Arcee. He held up the device and frowned. "Go and take a decontamination bath in the CR chamber for precaution," he said, softly. "Now."

Cliffjumper helped her up and into a large glass chamber. Jack was, at least, glad an Autobot didn't have to die today. The last time he saw someone got hurt…Jack shook his head. No need to relive that memory.

"Doctor Banner?"

Jack blinked and turned to where Ratchet was looking. Emerging from behind Optimus was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and brown eyes. He only wore a pair of trousers that looked a bit big for him.

"Tell it's a hundred degrees," the doctor pleaded. "I thought I was going to get frostbite from the cold."

"Doctor Banner?" Loki gasped. He was already on his feet. "Thank the Norns you're okay. Where's Thor? Did he—"

"Whoa!" Bulkhead exclaimed suddenly. Jack jumped back and put Raf behind him as the former Wrecker drew out his weapons, aiming them at Loki. The god of mischief's eyes widened. He tried to back away, but he ended up clutching his left arm and grit his teeth.

"Whoa, ease up, man," Adam cried out, jumping between the Autobot and the god.

Bumblebee warbled and stepped to the side to see what the matter was. Upon seeing Loki, his froze and widened his optics.

"Yo! What's he doing here?!" Cliffjumper demanded.

Ratchet growled and glared at Optimus. He thank his lucky stars and stripes that Arcee was in one of the chambers and not out here. There would be a lot bigger mess. He was just frustrated that the Autobot commander hadn't told them of the situation.

"Someone took a crack at it this morning," Wheelie commented on the situation.

"He's not doing anything wrong," Jack tried to reason. "Well, not this time."

"There are more pressing concerns far more dangerous than Loki," Ratchet helped out. "He knows of the Decepticons' return."

"How?" Optimus inquired, turning to Loki.

"The ship we were on," Bruce finally spoke. "It was under attack. Thor, Loki and I; we stayed behind to ensure the rest of their people had escaped. Don't ask me how or why I was there. By the time it was our turn to evacuate, the ship was all ready about to blow."

Everyone that had come back reeled in shock. Optimus was the first to speak.

"If what you say is true, then the entirety of the Avengers are also in danger," he spoke. "June's and Steven's kidnapping is a prominent example of it, along with Hank's as well."

"And my dad," Adam realized. "They chased us a long ways back into New Mexico close to Albuquerque before we realized we were gonna be outrun by them."

The group turned to him. Adam slouched in the couch, burying his face in his hands.

"They were kidnapped?" Bruce was shocked. "By the Decepticons, you mean?"

"You mean…they might have my brother as well?" Loki asked, drawing in a shaky breath.

"As if you care," Bulkhead scoffed.

"Bulk, stay calm," Cliffjumper warned.

"We've got to the find Thor," Jack decided. "He may be our only chance against the Decepticons."

Bruce glared at him. "Am I a joke to you?"

"The stuff from Norse Mythology is real?" Raf asked.

All optics were suddenly on him. Raf felt shy and ducked further behind Jack.

"Hey, it's okay," Jack assured. "They're a part of the family. They came to Earth because…let's say we've granted them asylum."

"Oh?" Raf looked up at them.

Optimus approached them. "Hello, young one. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. What is your name?"

Raf cautiously emerged from behind Jack. "Raf. My name is Raf."

"Of course," Optimus acknowledged with a nod. "I have hoped to continue this, but we must prepare. Arcee I will return to the crash site at once."

"You're leaving now? Can I come this time?" Miko pleaded.

"Sure, if you want to freeze to death," Hope snorted.

"On second thought, I'll stay," Miko replied, scurrying over to sit next to Loki. She listened as the chamber opened to let Arcee out.

"Good call," Bucky huffed.

"Where will you two be going?" Hope asked.

"Where that thing came from," Cliffjumper answered. "The Arctic Circle."

Hope frowned. "What's it doing all the way up there?"

"That is why we're leaving to investigate it," Arcee sighed. She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to grab the cords," she announced before taking off to the backroom.

"The Arctic?" Raf spoke. "I've always wanted to see snow!"

"I'd invite you to join us Rafael," Optimus Prime said. "But the conditions are much too extreme, even for us Autobots."

"Oh," Raf mumbled. "I understand."

The Prime stopped and looked back at the young boy. "But I will bring you back a snowball," he promised.

"That'd be awesome!" Raf cried, his eyes lighting up.

"So, what do you guys think we should do today?" Miko said once they left.

Bumblebee let out a few chirps and whirrs, mimicking playing a video game.

"Video game tournament!" Adam cheered. "Last one standing wins!"

"Bulkhead! Bumblebee!" Ratchet yelled. "Here, now!"

Bumblebee let out a series of chirps as he and Bulkhead went over to the where Ratchet stood. Raf waved and reached for the controller right as Miko snagged it and presented it to Jack.

"Prepare to be destroyed," she challenged.

"Yeah, not really my thing," Jack rejected.

"Oh?" she said, a malicious glint entering her eyes. "Scared of _losing_ to a girl?"

Jack glared at her and snatched the controller.

"Bring it," he growled as he began.

"No mercy," she replied.

Loki awkwardly scooted deeper into a corner of the couch, watching the two teens playing a ridiculous game that involved cars. Adam sat on the back to get a view. The young man craned his neck when he saw Raf's expression.

"Hey, Raf," he started. "Wanna play a game together?"

The younger boy sighed, "Nah, I just want to explore."

And he walked off into the base.

* * *

They were in the third turn of the first lap when Miko started playing rough. The girl started nudging Jack, causing him to swerve.

"Hey!" Jack growled "Cut it out!"

"C'mon, show some backbone!" Adam cheered on.

"Least my eardrums are intact!" Jack countered.

"What's that supposed to mean, wimp?" Adam challenged

"Exactly that…" Jack smirked as he got ahead. He pulled a fast one, knocking Miko's car off the track just as he crossed the finish line.

"Yes!" Jack crowed. "Oh! In. Your. _FACE!_" He did a happy dance while Miko rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Suddenly, the lights flickered out.

"Whoa! What the…" Jack asked. "Great, power failure."

"Aw," Bucky said in a mock baby tone. "It wiped out your game."

"You…but…" Jack stuttered. "I was winning!"

"Bummer," Miko stated.

"We are so having a rematch," Jack growled.

"Why? Just so I can beat you?" Miko sighed.

"We most definitely have a problem," Ratchet breathed. He was holding up what looked like a motherboard with with teeth marks in it.

"Whoa, Doc," Cliffjumper stated. "I know we're running low on energon, but you had to take it out on that?"

"I didn't do it!" Ratchet snapped.

"Then what could have caused that?" the red Autobot asked.

The lights flickered again.

"Or _that_?" Bulkhead gulped.

"Likely the main grid," Ratchet explained. "Hopefully it isn't a substation malfunction."

"Hey guys!" Wheelie called. "When did we get a new member?"

"We're busy!" Ratchet started. He stopped and turned around. "New member?"

He let out a sharp scream and all four Autobots jumped to their feet. The other kids turned around to see Raf with the transtechs besides him. A very, very large transformer was right behind them. The one thing that confused Jack was that it stood on four legs instead of two, had a smooth beak, and it was purple completely.

"Hey! Hey!" Miko shouted, as she and Jack put themselves between the Autobots and Raf. "What's with you guys?"

"Chompazoid!" Bulkhead shrieked. "Chompazoid!"

Jack was just about to comment on it when Cliffjumper began to approach the stranger with a grin. "Hey there!"

"Cliffjumper, no!" Ratchet gasped.

"I didn't expect a sleeper out of all things be in a small pod such as that one," Cliffjumper continued. He noticed something on the chest plate. "A Decepticon! That's cool. I'm Cliffjumper, and you are?"

The stranger was silent before answering, "Underbite. Heard of me?"

Cliffjumper shook his head.

"Ever been to Nuon City?"

"Don't you mean New York City?" Adam asked.

"No," Underbite said, annoyed, "I meant Nuon City."

Most of them shook their head.

"That's because I ate it!" he shouted before pouncing. Cliffjumper jumped and ducked before Underbite landed.

"Bumblebee, get the others out of here!" Ratchet howled.

Bucky nodded. He looped an arm around Loki's waist and underneath his legs before he hoisted him up. The god of mischief winced in pain before he found himself being carried down the stairs. Jack grabbed Miko's wrist and pulled her towards the back.

"Aw, I wanna see this," Miko whined.

"Miko! Get out of here now!" Bulkhead ordered. He was pulling at one of Underbite's back legs, trying to get him to slow down.

"Let's go!" Hope shouted. She was already herding Raf and Adam towards the back. Wheelie and Brains were scampering to safety themselves. When Miko put up some resistance, Bumblebee pushed them forward.

Cliffjumper jumped up on the Decepticon and grabbed the collar of its neck. "Yee-haw! Get along, little doggy!" he cried.

Underbite was beyond annoyed. He started to buck and kick, trying to get Cliffjumper off of him. The Autobot clung on for dear life. His grip eventually became loose and he found himself flying into Bulkhead, nicking Bruce in the process.

"Bruce!"

"Ratchet, duck!"

Ratchet turned around and yelped, lowering his head as Hope aimed his blasters and fired, hitting the beak. She watched as it faded, as if it weren't there before.

"Doctor Banner, you need to get going," Ratchet told the man.

Bruce was panting, struggling to contain his breathing. He raised his eyes to look at him…and Ratchet suddenly wished he didn't.

"Primus, no." He turned to look at Hope, who was powering up her weapons again. He made a mad dash and scooped the woman up.

"Hey, wait!" Hope yelped.

"Ratchet," Bulkhead shouted. "We can't fight Underbite. I think he—"

"Run!"

"Where's Bruce?"

Ratchet gave them a fearful look.

"What, you look like as if — Whoa!" Bulkhead shouted in realization as they scooped up the kids and ran down the hall.

"Wait," Raf gasped. "Dr. Banner."

A terrifying roar echoed through the base. Ratchet tapped in the coordinates for a door and he jumped in the center. "Everyone on, now!"

As soon as they did, the section of the floor went down before it was sealed back up. Jack was panting, sighing as he leaned against Ratchet's foot.

"Is Banner gonna be okay?" Adam asked, looking at his friends.

"Hardly," Ratchet groaned. "That was just a warm up_._"

Bumblebee gave a weary moan and his helm smacked up against the wall.

"So does Underbite still know we're here?" Bulkhead asked.

"What was your first clue?" Cliffjumper spat sarcastically.

The elevator stopped and they stepped off. Then another sound came, only more vicious and it sent shivers down the childrens' spin.

"What is that?" Loki sounded scared.

"Oh, it's nothing," Bucky dismissed.

"Well," Jack started, "five against one isn't so bad, right?"

"No!" Ratchet growled. "When it comes to those like Underbite, even extra opponents can be dealt with so easily. And I fear I know how he got in here."

* * *

"It's a trap alright," Cliffjumper confirmed as he gave the pod a look. "An empty trap."

"Most likely ejected into space eons ago," Ratchet said. "Only to wind up in the arctic, where the temperature kept him in stasis."

"Until we brought the thaw," Jack muttered, shaking his head.

"Now he's wide awake and ready to crush us," Miko said.

"And the bozo is probably trashing the entire ranch right now," Hope added.

"Geez, someone did a bad number on her," Wheelie commented.

"Well, can you blame her?" Brains shrugged. "What's the plan now, boss?"

Ratchet paused, as something caught his attention. It was a small remote-like device attached to the pod. Ratchet reached to touch it, when it suddenly blinked. In a matter of seconds, it projected a small hologram.

"_Greetings, Autobots,_" the holographic image spoke.

"Megatron," Cliffjumper growled.

"That's Megatron?" Miko sounded incredulous. She was shushed by Hope as the transmission was still played.

"_If you're watching this, then I take it you found this object already and now know what was inside. Considering you are familiar with his name and reputation, he'll be of no problem for you. And if you're the one to hear this message, Prime, wish I could see the look on your face as you watch your soldiers being devoured._" The projection finished and vanished, as the device burned. The Autobots looked at the device with grim expressions.

"W-What was that about?" Adam asked worriedly.

"Never mind that now. We need to act fast. Now!" Jack instructed.

"We can't just pop back out there," Hope said. "Not with Underbite running around."

"Damn," Ratchet growled. "He might've also have gotten into the comlink system! If we don't lock up the chompazoid immediately, he will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!"

"Um, what's a chompazoid?" Bucky asked.

"A beast of burden," Ratchet answered, shuddering. "A Cybertronian who has an unsatisfying taste for metal. He must be the last of his kind for all we know."

"So, he meant it when he said he ate the entire city of Nuon?" Raf exclaimed.

"I say we bug outta here, and let him keep the place!" Bulkhead cried.

"Are you freakin' stupid?" Jack scolded. "What of Optimus? He's still in the Arctic with Arcee, where it's a billion degrees below zero."

"Jack is right," Ratchet backed up the boy. "Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the ground bridge back online stat, Optimus and Arcee will perish."

"So you're saying if Underbite won't get them first, the freezing tundra will?" Adam asked, frightened. "I think I'd rather have him eat me alive than freeze to death."

"Oh, no you don't," Cliffjumper said. "You haven't seen a chompazoid devour a living Bot. _I_ _have_. They pick you apart from the inside out, going for the small, juicy bits first, fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, until there is nothing left, and I mean, __nothing__!"

"Not even your optics!" Bulkhead added.

"You have to let us help!" Jack pleaded.

"We're not made of metal," Raf continued.

"Yeah! Big n' Ugly can't hurt us," Miko finished.

"Come on, guys," Adam begged.

"Typically, I find your fleshiness your least _engaging_ quality," Ratchet grumbled, earning a few sour looks.

"Well, excuse us," Hope scoffed.

"Regardless it seems it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes," Ratchet continued.

"What about the Other Guy?" Cliffjumper inquired nervously.

"Let's hope he will still remember us as allies and not enemies," Ratchet said.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked at each other and shuddered.

* * *

Miko, Adam, Bucky, Cliffjumper, and Bulkhead were walking through the hallway, the Autobots fully prepared to open fire.

"I get to be _your_ guardian for once," Miko said, clearly addressing Bulkhead. "How cool is that?!"

"Careful what you wish for, Miko," Adam said. "We don't want to blow this one."

As they continued their march, Bulkhead was clearly the most nervous, looking around every few seconds. "Raf said he found him down here, right?" the Wrecker asked, before the lights shut off. A shrill scream echoed throughout the hall. When the lights turned back on, Miko had a mischievous grin on her face.

"Did you just scream like a little girl?" Miko asked.

"No. Maybe..." Bulkhead tried to speak. "Can we talk about this later?"

"When I'm making jokes, yeah," Cliffjumper teased before heading down the hall.

And so the group continued. As they turned into another corridor, Bulkhead seemed more nervous. He thought he heard tiny insects crawling. He kept pointing his blaster here and there.

"Take it easy, Bulkhead." Bucky said in a whispering, trying to calm the former Wrecker down. "Just stay focused. Everything's gonna be..."

He never got to finish, as Bulkhead opened fire at the ceiling. Afterwards, he started to panic. The humans and Cliffjumper turned to their friend, fully ready to engage the vermin…which wasn't there. To their disbelief, Bulkhead was struggling against the cables that fell out through the hole in ceiling, a handiwork of his.

"Okay…wish I haven't seen that," Cliffjumper commented.

"Bulkhead! You're fine! It's just a bunch of cables!" Adam shouted at the green giant.

Somehow, the big Autobot registered what the boy said as he stopped. He carefully analyzed his surroundings. Then he chuckle nervously. "Cables. Right. I knew that."

"See Bulk? There's nothing to fear," Bucky commented, slamming his fist in the wall with confident expression. Then a few cable cords fell down on him like water. His eyes seemed to shrink to impossible size, nearly disappearing. Miko could've sworn his colors shifted to pure white. That's when he let out a scream you hear in one of the old horror movies. What followed, was explosions and flames engulfing the whole corridor, making the kids wonder what kind of mess they were getting into.

* * *

Bumblebee, Hope, Wheelie, Brains, and Raf had started up the stairs. Bumblebee whined lowly. Hope was busy humming the main theme to Indiana Jones. They climbed the stairwell until they came to the top. Hope took a cautious step, only to be stopped by Raf.

"We don't know what's down there," he whispered.

"You're right," Hope agreed. "But, just to make sure…" She tiptoed down the hall and peered around the corner. She signaled for them the coast was clear as they continued their search.

"Um, anyone even getting the feeling of something bad being down there?" Wheelie gulped.

"Agh!" Raf groaned. "Doesn't this guy _ever_ stop eating?"

Brains shook his head. "Nope."

They started down the hallway and Bumblebee followed slowly. He turned around and his blaster shifted out, shaking nervously. Raf stood at the edge of a ventilation shaft. Bumblebee gently nudged him out of the way, and ripped off the grate. He raised his weapons. Nothing but the whirling fan in front of them.

"Well, at least it's working," Hope jested lightly.

"Good. Last time it crashed, Steve wouldn't come in here for a week," Brains told her.

There was a tinkling sound. Bumblebee began to frantically shoot down the shaft and screaming at the tops of his voice. The others moved out of the way, watching him attack for no reason.

"Hey!"

Bumblebee stopped.

"You can stop now," Hope said.

Bumblebee blinked at her in confusion, wondering what the heck was going. Then they looked back at the now destroyed shaft. Bumblebee nervously laughed before his doorwings lowered and he looked ashamed.

"Well, no chompazoid here," Brains spoke as he put his blaster away. "Must've cleared out. Let's go."

"Wait, what?" Raf exclaimed. "We can't just leave now. What would happen if we did?"

"I'm not following up on this," Brains said.

Bumblebee's optics narrowed and shouted at him.

"Oh, right," Brains realized. "Metal in the city." He gulped and looked behind them. "Okay, who wants to go back down the creepy hallway first?"

Hope sighed. "I guess I do."

* * *

A panel of the command center's floor was carefully lifted up. Bright aqua green optics peeked through the crack to see if anyone was in the room. Nothing. Sighing in relief he lifted the panel up and stepped into the room. He carefully set Loki and Jack down on the floor, both in shock of the scene.

Jack had wished he didn't take a look into the main room. The entire place looked like it was a wreck. Sparks flew from the monitors and the controls. Metal and plastic were scattered in various places.

"Well, it's been in worse conditions before," Ratchet sighed. "Now, where is it?"

"Shouldn't we call the others?" Loki asked, looking around nervously. "Maybe they weren't caught by them yet."

Jack sighed. How would he explain this to the one guy that started this? "You're just catching up, aren't you?"

Loki nodded.

"The Avengers, they broke up," Jack explained. "No one's speaking to each other."

"The team's broken?" Loki said. "That's great!"

Jack never looked so appalled before. Loki realized his mistake. By then, it was too late. Jack drew back his fist and punched Loki as hard as he could, getting a satisfaction from hearing the god of mischief grunt in surprise and pain.

Jack shook his hand. "How's it going?" he huffed.

"I've repaired the damaged conductors and rerouted the central conduits," Ratchet said. "But this won't be enough to power up the ground bridge!"

"I think you broke my nose," Loki groaned.

"I hope I did just to teach you a lesson," Jack said. He started for the doorway, but stopped and covered his mouth to prevent a cry escaping. Loki looked past him and saw why. There was the Decepticon, toying with something in the grass. He was eyeing it stupidly.

"Dad's shield," Jack remembered the night they took it out.

"I thought you said he ate anything of metal," Loki said to Ratchet.

"They do," Ratchet having realized the Decepticon was there. "But vibranium is made of material different of any alloy ever known."

"Ratchet," Bulkhead yelled as he and his team came down the hall, "we can't find Underbite. I think he—" He at once wished he hadn't said that. The quadruped turned his attention to them. He dropped the shield and glared at them.

"And we're dead," Cliffjumper announced.

"Get away from them, you big bully!" Miko called him out. She stiffened when the Decepticon turned to her.

Jack spotted the fire extinguisher, not five feet from where he was. He picked it up and threw it at him. Except Underbite dodged and it nearly hit Loki.

"Quick throwing stuff at me!"

"Cliff, move!"

Cliffjumper turned around and yelped, rolling to the side as Bucky fired his gun at Underbite, hitting his jaw.

"Oh, shit!" Jack jumped and rolled as a huge paw slammed into where he had been before. The paw lifted to reveal a large print in it.

"How do ya like that?"

"You're gonna have to work harder than that to get us, fatso," Wheelie spat.

Underbite did not take the comment too lightly. "Fat? FAT! This ain't fat, pipsqueak. It's muscle." He proved his point as he flexed an arm of his.

Wheelie chuckled uneasily. "I guess I stand corrected."

A sickening roar rocked the atmosphere. The hairs on Jack's neck stood up. He turned around as something stomped from the darkness of the hallway behind them. Then something jumped from blackness and landed near them. Bulkhead jumped back and Jack felt his mouth drop open when he gazed up.

The guy was large, probably at eight feet. He was a huge, just green and rippling with muscle.

But something bothered Jack the most. He stared at the giant in front of them. He looked familiar somewhere, like as if he had seen him before.

"Doctor Banner?" Jack asked, tilting a head.

"That's the Hulk?" Miko nearly laughed. "He doesn't look that scary."

Seemingly angered that he was no longer the center of attention, Underbite closed his mandible around a piece of metal and swallowed it whole. Every line on his body glowed a faint color, indicating that it had increased his strength.

"Um, guys?" Raf redirected their attention.

"We cannot allow Underbite to win this," Ratchet said. "Otherwise, Optimus and Arcee will perish. We need to get the bridge operational."

"Can't we just try to knock him out and put him back in the pod?" Adam asked. "Then send him back to the arctic?"

"I like that idea better," Cliffjumper said. "But it'll take more than us to kick Underbite to the north."

"Point proven," Ratchet nodded. "So, think, Ratchet. Think! If the ground bridge is still down, then there must be a breach in the energon fuel line."

"We'll do it," Hope volunteered. "Just tell us where it is and how we can do it."

"Down the hallway to your left," Ratchet explained. "But be careful. Energon is extremely flammable. You must make sure that not even a spark hits the energon, or the whole base will go sky high."

"Less talking, more smashing," Hulk said, fist in his hand.

"Sounds like a plan," Bucky muttered. "C'mon, let's go!"

* * *

The group ran down the hallway, turning left just as Ratchet told them. Sounds of the fight could be heard resonating off of the wall. They continued down the hall until Jack spotted the slightly glowing blue liquid leaking from a large metal pipe.

"There's the breach," he muttered. "C'mon, we've got to work fast!"

He slid under the pipe and pushed on it. It wouldn't budge. Adam got down to help and gave it a push with all their might. The pipe clanged into place.

"Miko, hand me the welder," Bucky ordered.

"But I wanted to—"

"Give it before __you __blow us sky high," Jack snapped as the girl reluctantly handed Bucky the welder.

"So if we get — _when_ we get the ground bridge open — do we bring Optimus and Arcee in first or knock Underbite out?" Raf started.

"We'll need to bring them here," Hope sighed. "By now, we could use all the help needed. We just need to keep Underbite out of the hanger for now."

"Then we'll need bait," Jack said.

"Where are we gonna get bait?" Miko snapped. "Underbite probably already helped himself to everything in here!"

"That's why you use your imagination," Adam told her.

In no time, the bottom half was welded shut. Bucky slid out from underneath the pipe. "Hope, can you hold the plate in place?"

The older woman nodded and climbed on top of the pipe. The entire room shook slightly, debris falling down from the ceiling.

"I can't believe Barney the dinosaur is going to eat us!" Miko whined.

"Neither can I," Bucky growled as he began welding the patch_. _As soon as he was finished, the entire room shook with more force.

"Underbite sounds like he's getting ready to feed!" Raf yelled.

"Run for it!" Bucky shouted as they all ran towards the others.

* * *

"Bulkhead, now!"

Bulkhead skidded across the floor towards the bridge. He reached out and pulled the lever. With what little strength he had left, he limped towards the active portal. He looked back warily before he disappeared through the bridge.

Underbite picked up Hulk by the leg and threw him through the doorway. Animals could be heard panicking from outside. Ratchet and his crew backed up towards the entryway as the chompazoid advanced on them.

"Nice knowing you," Cliffjumper said.

"I never thought it would end like this," Ratchet lamented.

Bucky was the first to enter the room. His eyes scanned the scene before he took action. Rifle set up, he aimed it at Underbite and fired at his backside. The Decepticon sleeper yelped at the pain. He turned around to find Bucky standing there. The Winter Soldier was already reloading his gun as the kids came rushing back in.

"Is it just me, or does he look a little bigger?" Adam asked.

At the same time, Bulkhead came back through, trying to support Optimus and Arcee.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones with an adventure," Arcee commented.

"Indeed," Optimus agreed. "Our comrades need help, and we cannot leave them to defend themselves."

Bulkhead groaned, "I'm not even sure if I can walk now or not."

"They still need our help." Optimus tried to walk forward, only to trip.

"Unfortunately we—" Arcee was about to say something when something pulled her by the leg. She managed to unsheathe her wrist blades and strike the chompazoid. He let her go, but looked really angry. Jack watched as the mark faded away.

"We're doomed," he grumbled.

"Miko!" Jack shouted, holding the shield up. Catching the drift, Miko ran forward and landed on his shield, giving her a boost that helped her jump into Underbite's mouth.

"Miko, no!" Hope cried out.

"Ah! He ate Miko!" Wheelie panicked.

Just as he was about to strike again, a strange sound came from inside of it. Underbite had a really funny look.

"W-what is that taste?" he asked. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"You're gonna be out, Muscle Mouth." Cliffjumper aimed his blaster and shot Underbite, sending him flying. A moment later Miko's head popped out of the mouth, blinking in confusion.

"Okay, who threw the party while the grown-ups were away?" she asked.

* * *

"You okay?" Raf asked.

Bruce had by then returned to normal. His head was pounding, his muscles sore. He adjusted the ice pack to soothe the ache. "I feel like I just had myself handed to me."

Jack smirked. "We would have let you in, but the place is a mess."

"Yes, we are aware of that," Arcee spoke, glaring around the room.

"We had a problem. But we managed to handle the situation," Adam reported.

"It would appear Megatron will not stop from anything to get rid of us," Optimus determined.

"Regrettably," Ratchet agreed. "But thankfully, this had happened only in the summer and not on a school day."

A high-pitch scream echoed in the base. Everyone jumped to attention as they saw Miko in a state of panic.

"What is it?" Jack gasped.

"Spider!" Miko shrieked. "Is it on me?" She jumped and ran away.

"Is she screaming like a little girl?" Bulkhead asked.


	7. Pretender

7\. Pretender

It was later in the week that preparations were being made. The ground bridge could be remade, but the supplies needed were running low. They were ready to move to an unknown location. Where they would sleep, no one was sure. They weren't exactly outdoors experts, but they knew it would be only two hours before they had a plan.

Optimus came into the hanger with the equipment from one of the nearby bins. He scanned the room to take in the action inside. Ratchet and Bulkhead were trying to repair the ground bridge the best they could. Hope, Bruce, and Bucky were going over the plan on what needed to go through first. Cliffjumper and Arcee were rearranging the load they planned to haul through the vortex when the time came. Loki and the transtechs were sitting idly by on the couch with Bumblebee watching over them.

Optimus approached Ratchet and set down his load. "Where are the other children?"

"Inside the house," Ratchet answered. "Hopefully, they will be ready to make a big move. I know that the rest of us are not."

Opitimus nodded. "Have we yet discovered Peter's location?"

"Not likely," Ratchet said. "But the _Nemesis_ still lacks access against the shield's defense. Thank Primus that they hadn't found any weak spots against it."

A hacking sound echoed through the room. Everyone looked up to find Bruce coughing dramatically while holding a Styrofoam cup. "What is this crap?" he rasped. "Are you trying to poison me, Barnes?"

"That's coffee," Bucky pointed out. "A mix of my own blend."

"It tastes like a monkey's butt stuffed in a blender with worms and bananas," Hope said.

"Hey, now. Back when I was your age—"

"Ack! I'm not listening!" The young woman covered her ears and sang off key to block it out.

"I'd rather hear that than Cliffjumper's engine," Loki grumbled.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree," Brains said.

Cliffjumper yelped, "Ah! And I was starting to like you, man!"

"Um, Cliff? I think that maybe you're overreacting," Bulkhead voiced his concerns.

"I am reacting at a reasonable rate!" Cliffjumper protested. "There is no such thing as overreacting. He just called me an obnoxious engine!"

"You done crying, my dear?" Arcee teased.

"At least I remembered the day Jack was brought into this world at a young age," Cliffjumper spat at her.

"One time I did!" Arcee retorted. "And besides, respect the mothers. They're the ones who brought the children into the world. They can take you men out."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Hope muttered to herself.

The monitors nearby started to beep. Ratchet groaned as he got up to his feet. He went over to see what the systems had picked up.

"What is it?" Optimus inquired, walking up behind him.

"We're receiving a signal on a restricted band," Ratchet spoke. "It appears to be coming from a starship inside the solar system."

"Is it the Decepticons?" Wheelie asked, worried.

"Oh, no," Ratchet waved it off. "I certainly don't think they would want to contact us with this kind of programming." He tapped at the keyboard and froze.

"What's up?" Cliffjumper wondered.

"It's an Autobot identification beacon," Ratchet revealed.

"There's more of you?" Hope asked.

"You think we're the only ones?" Brains was baffled. "Well, now I'm insulted."

Loki cackled.

"The masses scattered in the galaxies during the Great Exodus," Arcee explained. "This was when Cybertron went dark. But the Cons _have_ been known to bait traps with fake beacons."

"Okay. How do we know this one isn't?" Bruce drawled out.

"There is only one way to know," Optimus said. He pressed a button and spoke, "Unknown vessel. This is team Omega One. Identify yourself."

There was a crackle of static.

"I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon brigades," a male voice drawled.

"Wheeljack?" Bulkhead exclaimed incredibly. "You ol' Con crusher! What are _you_ doing all the way out here?"

"Bulkhead? Is that you? What's with the security around this old dirtball and the multiple signals?"

"This place is near crawling with Cons," Bulkhead told him. "How soon can you get here to even the odds?"

"Sometime tomorrow, if I can put the metal to the pedal," Wheeljack smugly replied.

"Wheeljack," Optimus hummed. "I have known him only by his reputation. Can you verify his voice print?"

"He is one hundred percent the real deal," Bulkhead nodded.

"Very well then. We will be sending you landing coordinates, Wheeljack," Optimus said. "Safe journey."

"See ya soon, buddy!" Bulkhead called. "I'll make sure you get a proper welcome!"

And the communication link went off.

"You seem pretty excited," Hope pointed out.

"Yeah, who's the boyfriend?" Arcee teased.

"Me and Jackie go way back," Bulkhead gave a low laugh. "We were part of the same war unit — the Wreckers. Which means the Cons are gonna wish they never found us."

Bucky sat up suddenly, alert and afraid. "Um, Prime?"

"Yes?"

"How secure was that transmission?"

* * *

Megatron was grinning as he listened to Soundwave play back the transmission between the Wrecker and the Autobots. Now _this_ was something he could use to an advantage. Before he wasted away the resources he had, he wanted to track them through the network of both human and Cybertronian origin. This was all he needed.

"Soundwave," he barked. "Call Starscream and have him dispatch a unit to locate the Wrecker and alert Makeshift at once."

Soundwave nodded and Megatron watched as his screen lit up. He turned away and strolled out of the room. He grinned as if victory was his at last. He couldn't wait to see the look on his rival's face when he attacked them. What was that saying Optimus loved to say in battle?

"_One shall stand, one shall fall."_

"Today, Optimus, I will be the one to stand while you fall," Megatron laughed to himself. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

"Jack! It's like seven in the morning. Can we kill him now?" Adam yelled from his room.

"I'm thinking about it," Jack groaned.

He threw the covers off of him. He swore the former Wrecker had to have been active all night inside the larger building outside. The green Autobot had to have been super hyped up about seeing Wheeljack after all those years. Ratchet had threatened to lock him up in vehicle mode to prevent him from keeping them up the entire night. He still kept them up half of the night from bouncing off the walls.

Literally, I think.

"You think he's here to visit?" Raf asked.

Hope dished up breakfast for him, using the eggs they had to take from the hens. "Only one way to find out."

"Maybe he'll stay," Miko chirped.

After they ate and the dishes were done, they set out to finish their work. Jack went into the shed to get as much of the seeds and equipment as he could. As he did, he noticed something gleaming in a corner. Looking up, he set a bag down and headed toward the corner. He moved the stuff surrounding it out of the way and his breath hitched in his throat.

Picking it up, he realized it was his mother's first helmet. She had worn it when she started her career as Binary. Running a hand over its smooth surface, he wondered what it was like. The first battle, the first time working with a team, and the events that led to the Avengers Civil War. He tucked it underneath his arm as he dumped the goods into a wagon and dragged it to the hanger.

"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone," Arcee announced.

Ratchet started up the ground bridge so they could get said Wrecker.

"Ground bridge cycling up," he said proudly. Then it began to spit out sparks. Ratchet snarled and pounded a fist into the controls. "Blasted chompazoid! Equipment hasn't been the same since he wrecked havoc on this place."

"You should have gotten insurance for it," Adam stated.

"So, Wheeljack's going to land on the moon, and then you'll bridge him here?" Jack asked.

"I do not wish to do so, but we cannot risk revealing our location," Optimus told him. "Just in case the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship and our location."

"Dude, I've never seen you so stoked before," Miko said as Bulkhead paced around.

"Oh, you're gonna love Wheeljack," Bulkhead giggled. "We were like brothers, and tonight we're gonna party!"

"Sweet!" Miko cheered.

"Not around the animals," Ratchet said. He frowned at the screen. "That's odd."

"What?" Cliffjumper looked up. "Something funny with the screen?"

"No, but I'm detecting more than one signature at Wheeljack's location," Ratchet informed.

"Con scum!" Bulkhead snarled.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered.

Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee zipped through the vortex, leaving the rest of them behind.

"Why do the Cons ruin everything?" Wheelie whined.

"I don't know, but it's getting old," Cliffjumper deadpanned.

"How did you survive with them?" Adam asked Jack.

Jack just shrugged. "I've been living with them since I was practically a little kid. They've been like family to me. So, I was pretty much used to it by now."

"But not her," Adam gestured to Miko.

"She's kinda different."

Bulkhead and the others ran in right as the ground bridge gave a sinister sounding snap and closed. The boys craned their necks to look at the newcomer. One word popped into their minds: samurai. Sword handles were resting on his back. He was white with red and green decals. His black helmet had two rectangular horns on the side.

"So, this is the infamous Wheeljack," Adam said. "Fascinating."

"Jackie, meet my other buddy Miko! She can wreck with the best of us!" Bulkhead introduced his human friend.

"Hiya," Miko waved.

"You keeping Bulkhead out of trouble?" Wheeljack asked.

"I try," Miko sighed with a grin. "But trouble always finds us."

"Wheeljack, I welcome you to our family," Optimus greeted. "What have you to report from your long journey here?"

"Been bouncing from rock to rock, searching for sign of friend or foe," Wheeljack replied. "Now, I find both."

"We are few but strong," Optimus responded. "We have suffered losses, but we have grown. And we will relish welcoming a new member into our fold."

"I would be honored," Wheeljack accepted the offer.

"Then let's get this party started!" Bulkhead crowed, slapping Wheeljack on the shoulder. Wheeljack pitched forwards before turning around and chest bumping his team mate.

"Oh, joy," Ratchet grumbled.

* * *

"The moment Makeshift passed through their ground bridge, we lost his tracking signal."

Logan stiffened as he recognized the voice. For the last few weeks he had been prowling the halls for a way to escape the ship. So far, there was nothing for him to accomplish that plan with the Decepticons at every corner. However, there were still numerous ways to get back to Earth without getting caught.

"The shields are no doubt heavily concealing the Autobots' location," the air commander concluded.

Logan slowly backed into the shadows. Heavy footsteps found him feeling the floor vibrate from underneath them as the Decepticon warlord and his second-in-command trekked down the hall, Soundwave in tow.

"No matter," Megatron replied. "I have complete faith over Makeshift. He wasn't called that for any other reason."

The former X-Men member quietly followed them towards what was believed to be the brig. The doors opened up to reveal another Cybertronian shackled from the ceiling.

"Well, Wheeljack," Megatron sneered. "What brings you here to these parts after all these years?"

"You guys can go slag yourselves if you think Bulkhead can't sniff out an impostor," the Autobot spat out.

"Ever so valiant as always," Megatron praised mockingly. "It would never matter either way, Wheeljack. Still, I think you will be of use besides our human prisoners. Besides, Makeshift is very good at keeping up with appearances. He needs only to fool your Wrecker friend long enough to find the shields' activation site and shut them down so I can enter Earth's atmosphere and send my battalion upon them to stain the very earth itself with Optimus' energon."

* * *

Miko's music rocked the atmosphere. They had yet to finish packing up. All that was left was loading the animals into the trailer.

"We're going to have to make a few trips for them," Hope said. She gestured at the pastures, where the cows were grazing peacefully. Her eyes never left the tablet in her hand. "Even if Optimus' trailer is big enough to fit the entire livestock, we need to avoid risk of overcrowding them."

Jack shooed the last of the chickens in the pen before closing it. "I agree," he said. "I don't want to leave all of them behind anyways."

"No, because we all know how much you love your chickens," Hope smirked.

"C'mon, Jackie," they heard Bulkhead taunt. "Show me what you got!"

They looked at each other before heading back into the barn. A big blur of metal streaked across the room and slammed int Bulkhead.

"Ha ha! Nice lob!" Bulkhead chuckled, hurling the metallic ball towards Wheeljack.

"What the heck are they doing?" Bucky asked.

"It's called lobbing," Brains explained. "The favorite pastime on Cybertron. Especially among the warrior class."

"Come on, Raf!" Miko yelled over the game. "Show us some moves."

"Ooh, I brought a CD that has some dance songs," Adam realized. "I just need to find a stereo."

Jack chuckled to reply. He felt a finger tap on his shoulder. He looked up to find Loki behind him.

"Where's Optimus?" he asked.

Jack looked around. There wasn't a sign of the Autobot leader anywhere. "Um, Arcee? Where did Optimus go to?"

"For a drive," Arcee shrugged. "Primes don't party."

Jack looked up at her. "Why?"

Arcee stiffened.

"My name is Sue! How do you do?! Now you're gonna die!" _Optimus hiccuped. He looked down from the barn's rooftop and smiled drunkenly at the infuriated medic below him. "Hiya, Ratchet!"_

"_Optimus Prime! You get your intoxicated aft down from there right now, or so help me I'll come up there and get you down myself. And this. Won't. Be. Pretty! Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Ratchet shouted as he heard the others cackling._

"Good question," Arcee replied.

"Coming on you!" Bulkhead announced, throwing the ball again.

Jack watched and realized Bulkhead's trajectory was off. The ball skimmed past Wheeljack's fingertips. Bruce had to grab the other kids and yank them away as it went sailing over them, slamming into the walls and onto the controls, causing them to spark violently.

"So, that's where all the stupid went," Bucky mused.

"You know, I am attempting to perform sensitive calibrations here!" Ratchet snapped.

"Sorry, Doc," Bulkheqad apologized. "Guess we were a little charged up."

"A little too charged up," Arcee snorted.

"You built this out of scratch, huh?" Wheeljack asked in mild interest.

"I did," Ratchet replied.

"That's quite a feat of engineering," Wheeljack nodded.

"Yes, it is," Ratchet harrumphed.

"Something wrong with it?"

"I didn't care for the way it sounded at the last jump, so I put it in shut down."

"Puts it to good use," Cliffjumper nodded.

"Won't be for long," Ratchet said. "We'll be relocating soon enough, so it'll have to go with everything else."

A frustrated look crossed Wheeljack's face before it morphed into confusion. "What do you mean relocating?"

"We're moving," Cliffjumper answered. "This place ain't safe for all of us. Which is why we need to have someone stay behind to make sure we get there in one piece.

"What if you need to use it?"

"Oh, the doc can't disrupt the process without causing irreparable damage."

"How long will that take?"

Ratchet glared at him. "Why are you so interested in this?" he questioned.

That caught Jack's attention as he eavesdropped on them.

"What? Since when is it a crime?"

Ratchet stared at him, studied him. He turned back to the structure and continued, "A few hours, if I get lucky enough. We would have Loki do us the honors, but I don't trust him enough to even get us to our destination. And he'll need time to rebuild all of that energy."

"So uh, how long would _that_ take?" Wheeljack asked.

Jack tugged at his jacket nervously. He didn't know why, but something about this conversation didn't seem right.

"Hard to tell with him," Ratchet muttered.

"Huh," Wheeljack humphed, walking away.

Jack watched his every movement. Something wasn't right, and he was determined to find out what it was. He focused his attention on the small crowd that gathered around Bulkhead, who was telling them one of his stories from his days as a Wrecker.

"So, there we were — no communications, low on energon, and surrounded by the Cons. So, what does Wheeljack do?" Bulkhead grinned at his buddy.

"What I do best," Wheeljack gave a soft laugh.

"What's that?" Adam asked.

"He chucks his only grenade, straight into the primary heat exchanger," Bulkhead continued.

"Yeah," Wheeljack added. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"The place went supernova!" Bulkhead finished, spreading his arms out.

"Awesome!" Miko breathed.

"Yeah, and I'm _still_ picking out shrapnel," Bulkhead said.

"Wouldn't find it that surprising," Bucky snorted.

Bulkhead leaned down and pointed at Wheeljack's waist. "There it is — Jackie's signature. One grenade, one shot." He gave Wheeljack his biggest grin yet. The green giant frowned and waved his hand in front of Wheeljack's face. "Hey, you all right?"

"Huh?" Wheeljack looked up.

"You don't seem like yourself," Bulkhead said.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. You're just kinda quiet."

"Ah, I just had too much on my mind," Wheeljack dismissed. "I should go topside before I go stir crazy."

"And break up the party?" Bulkhead asked, offended. "Come on. The gang's loving you! You gotta tell 'em about the Battle of Darkmount Pass."

"Why don't you tell them?" Wheeljack offered. "You're better at it. How about one of your friends here show me around?"

Jack tensed. _That_ did not sound right.

"I'll do it!" Miko volunteered. "Do you play any instruments? Can you fly? Have you thrashed more Decepticons than Bulkhead?" When her voice barely became audible, Jack looked up to Bulkhead.

"Um, Bulkhead? We should probably check to see if any of the livestock have gotten out. I thought I heard something."

"Huh? Oh, sure." Bulkhead stood up and followed Jack outside. The latter could hear Hope speak until it sounded like they couldn't hear her.

"Okay, what's the deal?"

Jack nearly stumbled. "What do you mean?"

"Jack, come on. I know you long enough to know that when you ask someone to help, there's something on your mind," Bulkhead said. "Is something wrong?"

Jack fidgeted in his spot. He hated it when the Autobots were right on knowing him well.

"Bulkhead, I don't know what it is about him. But there's something about Wheeljack that just makes me feel unsure about him," Jack admitted.

"You too, huh?"

Jack glared at him. "What?"

"I don't know what it is either, but there's something about him that just doesn't seem right either," Bulkhead stated.

"Right about what?"

Bulkhead and Jack turned around. Arcee and Cliffjumper were coming up to them.

"Hey, nice to see you two," Jack sheepishly pointed out.

"Right," Cliffjumper said. "You two okay?"

Arcee frowned. "What did you boys do?"

"Nothing!" Jack nearly shouted. "We were just talking about Wheeljack, that's all."

"Don't tell me you're jealous that he's getting attention," Cliffjumper smirked.

Bulkhead snorted. "Give me a break, Cliff. I'm actually happy that he's making friends. Something's just not right."

"Really?" Arcee asked. "He's traveled _galaxies_; you haven't seen him in centuries. He could just be rocket lagged or something. People change over time, you know."

"Not Jackie," Bulkhead growled through gritted teeth.

* * *

The real Wheeljack was struggling to break free from his restrains. Annoyed, the guard stormed up to him and aimed his blaster at him. "Do not think you're going anywhere, Autobot scum — _Hrrk_!"

Wheeljack blinked. He watched as the guard dropped the floor, a small figure bent over on the back. He wrenched his claws free from the metal carcass before retracting them.

"You're welcome," Logan deadpanned.

"Um, thanks. Now, any chance you can get me out of these?"

Logan huffed. He looked around, hoping to find the controls to free him. He found the panel up above. Quickly thinking, he marched forward and slammed his claws again into the sides. Wheeljack found himself free from the chains at last.

"Oof, you don't talk much."

"After getting stuck in places like this for a long time, why would I?" Logan responded.

Wheeljack nodded, understanding. He went over to the guard to gather his belongings. "I'll be taking them."

"Great," Logan said. "Now, let's get out of here before they realize we're gone."

* * *

"Look, I know Wheeljack a lot better than anyone here," Bulkhead argued as they walked back to the hanger. Cliffjumper held up his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine. Say what thou wilt, but thou shalt not throw thy wrath onto me," Cliffjumper joked.

"You think I'm that paranoid?" Bulkhead growled.

"Hey, there," Wheeljack greeted as he and Miko walked in. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Um, you two," Jack replied quickly.

"Yeah, the good old days," Bulkhead nodded. Then an idea popped into his head. "You know, like the Battle of Darkmount Pass?"

"That is a heck of a story," Wheeljack agreed. He didn't regard to Bulkhead narrowing his optics.

"Yep. So, why don't you be our guest and tell it?"

"Blah, blah, blah," Miko groaned. "How about after we go off-roading?"

"Miko, stay out of it," Jack snarled.

"Jack," Hope warned.

"I'm not sure—" Bruce started.

"BANNER!"

The Avenger was taken back by Bulkhead's sudden roar. Then the green Wrecker turned to his friend. "Well, you gonna tell it or not?"

"Okay, okay," Wheeljack growled. "All you had to do was ask nicely."

"Get ready," Jack whispered to Raf.

"To do what?"

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"The Wreckers were trapped between the Decepticon patrol and the smelting pit," the face began the tale. "The Cons were vicious, bearing down on us with everything they had. Me and Bulkhead engaged the enemy, leaving them for scrap. Then I made us a way out by using their backsides as stepping stones across the molten metal. Right, Bulk?"

"Yeah," Bulkhead sighed. "That's _exactly_ how it happened."

Jack was disappointed. A wave of shame washed over him.

"Except for one tiny little thing," Bulkhead stated with narrowed optics. "I wasn't there!"

Everyone glared at the two Wreckers. Or one, if this Wheeljack was fake.

"Wheeljack knew that I joined Optimus' crew at the time," Bulkhead explained. "But you wouldn't have known that if all you did was access Jackie's public service record."

"Um, Bulk?" Miko asked. "What does that have to do with — Ah!"

Bucky had rushed forward and pushed Miko to the side. Wheeljack, if it really was him, ended up grabbing him and lifting him up in the air.

"James!" Bruce cried.

"Stay back, or I'll squeeze him to a pulp," the fake snarled.

A low snarl ripped through Jack's throat. He didn't move, even though he wanted to. He was just glad that he didn't have Miko, even though Bucky was part of his family. He had sworn to himself that he would care for Miko until they were old enough to look out for themselves.

"Wheeljack! What are you doing?" Miko shrieked.

"Decepticon coward," Bulkhead growled. "Let him go and face me!"

"Don't fret," Makeshift chuckled in his real voice. "There will plenty of fighting to come soon." He pulled one of the swords from his back and glared at Ratchet. "Now, open the bridge or your friend gets it."

"Is there a real Wheeljack?" Adam demanded.

"Probably where the Cons are," Jack growled.

"Oh, indeed. And I'm pretty sure Lord Megatron is making sport of him right now," Makeshift sneered.

* * *

"Are you certain that these are the coordinates supplied to Makeshift?" Megatron glared down at the seeker before.

"Yes," Starscream confirmed nervously. "I'm positive that we're there."

"Then what is taking him so long?" Megatron hissed.

"Why don't you go ask him when you join him in hell?"

Megatron and Starscream looked up. Wheeljack was walking towards them, his swords ready to be stained with Decepticon energon. However, what shocked them the most was the Wolverine standing in front of him, supplied with a mask.

"What? How did you manage to escape?" Megatron shouted.

"The same way you're gonna go," Logan said.

"Do you not see that you are vastly outnumbered?" Starscream said.

"All I see are a bunch of fellas who might vastly enjoy watching me pound some dents into you," Wheeljack brushed off the seeker's threat.

"Destroy them both!" Megatron commanded.

Wheeljack and Logan stood their ground, blocking and dodging attacks while counterattacking their own. Logan noticed a swirling arch of color appearing. Looking between them he make a break for it.

* * *

The console beeped, signaling the ground bridge was ready.

"About time," Makeshift snarled, pulling the lever. He started backing towards the tunnel, daring them to attack.

"Hey! At least let me go!" Bucky shouted.

Logan had landed on the other side of the portal and into an old building. He could hear various noises going on. Looking up, he saw what looked like Wheeljack backing up with a familiar figure in his grasp.

"Let's get this party started," he chuckled.

_Not_ _today._ Logan quietly let his claws slip from between his knuckles once more. Once the clone was close enough, he swung his arm and sliced the exposed wires he saw. The clone gave out a cry and nearly lost his grip on the man. He turned around to see the mutant glaring up at him.

"Logan?" Hope squawked in surprise.

The surprise left them unaware of a second. Wheeljack leaped through bridge and slammed into the Con, knocking Bucky out of his grip and into Bulkhead's awaiting hands.

"I'd shut that hole before the stink comes through," Wheeljack said nonchalantly.

Ratchet nodded and cut the bridge off. The white Wrecker's optics grew cold as the duplicate stood up.

"You," Wheeljack snarled. "I hope you've prayed to Primus today, because you're gonna be meeting him soon."

"I was going to say the same about you," Makeshift taunted.

The two identical mechs circles around each other like cats, swords raised and optics closed in on their target. Bulkhead slammed his fists together as the Decepticon passed him. Wheeljack stopped him with a tap of his blade.

"Ugly's mine," he growled.

And then they jumped at each other, twirling their blades in a storm.

"Which one's the real Wheeljack?" Raf asked.

Miko's eyes flickered between the two fighters. "I lost track!"

"That one," Loki pointed to the real one.

Wheeljack disarmed the guy and kneed him in the helm, knocking him flat as he placed his blade on his throat.

"That's my Jackie," Bulkhead preened.

"You," Wheeljack pointed to Ratchet. "Hit the switch so we can take the trash out."

Ratchet responded with a nod. He quickly typed in the command and allowed another ground bridge to appear. Both Bulkhead and Wheeljack grabbed hold of the imposter and dragged him to the vortex. Bulkhead swung and hurled him through before it closed.

"Nice lob," Wheeljack smirked.

* * *

The next morning, they all had a little party to celebrate Logan's and Wheeljack's return. Optimus watched as the children had some fun dancing to a song from the music playing from Adam's laptop. Bumblebee had gotten Cliffjumper to join him, and the two turned out to be pretty good at it.

"It's like a recurring nightmare," Ratchet bemoaned from the ground bridge controls.

"Welcome back," Bruce said to Logan.

"I've been in too many clubs enough to be invited," Logan brushed off. "I just don't understand why that punk's here himself."

"It's a long story," Bruce sighed.

"Now that you're a part of Team Prime, we need to pick out a vehicle mode for you. I have some ideas," Bulkhead said to his friend.

Wheeljack sighed. "Yep, since the Cons managed to help themselves to everything."

"How long do we have to wait for everyone to find it funny before we tell him the truth?" Wheelie whispered to Brains, holding up a bunch of cable wires.

"I think we'll know when we get there," Brains said.

"Wheeljack, know that you'll always have a haven here on Earth," Optimus said.

"Jackie never usually stays, but he _always_ comes back," Bulkhead grinned.

"Okay, guys," Miko spoke, whipping out her phone. "Say cheese!"

The camera flash blinded them all. But at least Miko had something to remember this moment by.


End file.
